Twisted
by tivafan-01
Summary: Tony&Ziva switch story lines. When Tony comes to work for NCIS as a liaison officer for Mossad, he develops feelings for his NCIS partner, Ziva David. While it's obvious that Tony's fallen in love, will a commitment-fearing Ziva ever feel the same? TIVA!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: So... I'm back with yet-another story! :) Anyways... This was a story idea by Selonianth. He wanted to see a story where Tony and Ziva switched lives, (not like Freaky Friday, but their whole lives) so that Tony grew up in Israel and joined Mossad and Ziva was born in the US and so on. I think I have some great ideas for this story (but you guys will be the judges of that) :p. Anyways... there's only minor Tiva in this chapter, but it's setting everything up for later. Basically, the story starts after Kate's death when Ari is dead and someone has to take over Kate's place in the team (guess where Tony comes in, lol.)

Basically, I didn't change the original storyline of Kate's death too much because that would make things even more confusing for you guys. The only things I changed are minor and will be talked about in this chapter.

Overall, if you want to understand this story, just remember that I have switched Tony and Ziva's lives. Enjoy!

* * *

"Um… Ziva?"

Ziva looked up from the paperwork and raised her eyebrow at McGee, "Yes?"

McGee took in the dark rings under the deep brown eyes of the woman before him. It wasn't hard to see that she hadn't been sleeping well lately. Then again, neither was anyone else on the team.

Ever since Kate's death, things were different. Ziva and Abby had become unusually serious after losing one of their best friends, Gibbs was even quieter than before and McGee seemed lost. He kept waking up in the middle of the night, hoping that it had all been a dream… Hoping that Kate had never been shot.

And yet she was. Tim had been living the past week in denial, but he knew he couldn't avoid the truth much longer. Everyday when he walked in the bullpen and saw Kate's empty desk, he remembered how suddenly her life was taken by a terrorist named Ari Haswari on a rooftop the previous Tuesday.

"Yes?" Ziva repeated, this time a little more forcefully, forcing McGee out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I… I was wondering if you and Abby wanted to go out to lunch?"

Ziva shook her head slowly, "Not today Tim."

McGee nodded solemnly before walking back to his desk. One week ago, Ziva calling him 'Tim' instead of 'Probie' or 'McGeek' would've caused him to smile. Now it was simply a sad reminder of how much things had changed since Kate's death.

Feeling the need to escape the bullpen for a few minutes, McGee stood up and grabbed his coat before announcing, "I'm going for some coffees."

Ziva looked up and gave Tim the best smile she could muster. Still, it was no competition for her usual, carefree grin and both agents knew that it was forced.

McGee sighed as he walked passed Ziva and headed towards the elevator. He hated seeing her like this. Despite how often she teased him, McGee loved Ziva like a sister. He knew that she blamed herself for Kate's death. It didn't matter how often people tried to tell her otherwise, in Ziva's eyes Kate was her partner and she let her down.

"Where are you going, McGee?" Gibbs questioned and Tim couldn't help but smile softly. Gibbs had definitely changed after Kate's death, but things began to get better after he got revenge on Ari.

The terrorist had decided to 'visit' Gibbs in his basement a few nights ago and the ex-marine didn't think twice about killing the man. Ever since then, the old Gibbs was back. Although he was a little more patient with his agents now, Gibbs still demanded nothing but the best from them and kept them in line with icy glares and head slaps.

"MCGEE!" Gibbs barked and McGee jumped. He'd been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't answered the older man's question.

"Uh… sorry boss."

"Don't apologize it's a sign of weakness." Gibbs reminded and Tim nodded.

"Right. Sor—I mean, I was just going out on a coffee run."

"No." Gibbs shook his head and McGee looked at his boss in shock. Gibbs was never one to turn down coffee.

"Upstairs. Director's office. Now!" He ordered and McGee nodded nervously before doing as told.

"You too David!" Gibbs ordered his senior field agent and Ziva quickly followed orders. Gibbs was last to reach the director's office, and he closed the door behind him.

After turning around, Gibbs stood in front of the director's desk. He placed his hands on the desktop and leaned forward, "Why are we here Jen?"

Director Shepard sighed before standing up. She took off her glasses and placed them on her desk before turning to face the three agents before her.

"I understand that you were all very close to Kate. Her unfortunate death has affected you all greatly."

"We're _not_ going to see a shrink." Gibbs stated coolly, but with authority. Jen glared at him.

"That's not what I was going to say, _Agent Gibbs, _but try and give me orders again and I _will_ force you all to seek psychiatric guidance to help you deal with Ms. Todd's passing."

Gibbs snorted defiantly but was silent as he waited for Jen to address the issue she'd called them into her office for.

"As I was saying before Agent Gibbs interrupted me," Jenny continued, "I know that you were all very close to Agent Todd. Unfortunately, her death has left your team one short. NCIS has no choice but to replace her."

"No one is replacing her." Gibbs spoke up and Jen raised an eyebrow.

"This is not up for debate, Agent Gibbs. His name is Anthony DiNozzo. You all met him while investigating Ari. Officer DiNozzo will be holding a liaison position for Mossad here in NCIS. That's all."

Gibbs shot Jenny a warning look, but didn't say anything as he exited the room. He slammed the door behind him in both defiance and anger. He couldn't believe that Jen was already trying to replace Kate.

"Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up, his level of anger only rising when he saw Anthony DiNozzo standing in front of him.

"What?!" He spat, causing Tony to narrow his eyes at the unnecessary ferocity in his voice.

"I assume that Director Shepard has told you about—"

"Rule eight: never assume." Gibbs walked passed Tony and sat down in his desk.

Tony seemed perplexed at Gibbs' behaviour but Ziva, who had been watching the whole exchange, simply smirked. _Get used to it._

Ziva let her eyes roam over the man before her, _so this is my new partner…_

The thought sobered Ziva instantly. The only reason she needed a new partner was because her old partner—

"Agent David!" Gibbs barked and Ziva looked at her boss, "Take Officer DiNozzo downstairs and introduce him to Abby."

"Yes Boss." Ziva pushed her thoughts of Kate to the side and stood up. She walked past her new partner and headed towards the elevator. "Officer DiNozzo, follow me!"

Ziva smirked as the man sighed, but he did as told. He stepped into the elevator behind her and waited until the elevator doors closed before speaking.

"Is Agent Gibbs always so…"

"Yes, Officer DiNozzo." Ziva answered, already knowing the question. "He is."

"Please," Tony began as he turned to look at Ziva, "Call me Tony."

Ziva turned to look at the man in surprise. For the first time since meeting the man, Ziva allowed herself to take a good look at him. After doing so, she couldn't help but admit that he was very handsome.

"Fine… Tony," Ziva began, deciding that if they were to be partners they may as well get along, "Then you may call me Ziva."

The elevator doors opened and Ziva walked out, completely oblivious to the smirk on Tony's face as he watched her leave. _My pleasure, Ziva._

Tony followed Ziva into Abby's lab, where the forensic scientist was giving Ziva one of her bone-crushing hugs. Ziva's face grew a little red from lack of oxygen, but Abby let go and took a step back before she could say anything.

"Ziva! You haven't come down here in _forever! _McGee or bossman either." The goth pouted slightly as she crossed her arms like a two year-old. "I missed you guys."

Ziva bit back a smile, "I am sorry Abby. I promise I'll buy you a CafPow to make it up to you."

"You better." Abby only half-teased and Ziva smirked before turning the lovable goth around so she was facing Tony.

"Abby…" Ziva began slowly, unsure of how her friend was going to take the news she was about to deliver. "You've met Tony. He'll be working with NCIS as a liaison officer for Mossad."

Abby glared at Tony, "He was supposed to control Ari, but didn't and got Kate killed."

"Tony will be working as my new partner." Ziva said hesitantly and Abby scowled. She didn't bother to acknowledge Tony but instead turned to Ziva with an angry look on her face.

"He's _replacing_ Kate?!"

Ziva glanced at Tony uncomfortably before focusing her attention back on Abby, "No one will ever replace her Abby. He is simply…"

"Replacing her." Abby finished and Ziva sighed.

"Only her job, Abby. Not in our hearts." Ziva made a face at how sappy the words sounded, but it was what her friend needed to hear.

Abby crossed her arms again and looked at Tony, acknowledging him for the first time. "Why is he even Mossad? He's Italian!"

"Actually…" Tony spoke up, "My great-grandparents moved to Israel a long time ago. My mother was Israeli. My father was the one with Italian blood. Besides, Mossad considers me quite a useful tool. Not very many people suspect an Italian to be working for Mossad… It makes for a great cover."

Abby opened her mouth to say something but Ziva cut her off. "He's staying Abby, you may as well make the best of it."

Tony raised an eyebrow; he hadn't expected Ziva to stand up for him but was secretly pleased. He couldn't help but notice how attractive she was.

"Welcome to NCIS, Officer DiNozzo." Abby said reluctantly, and despite her obvious dislike for Tony, the Mossad officer couldn't help but smile. He could tell that, after she accepted him, they'd be great friends.

"Please, call me Tony."

Abby looked over at Ziva and flashed her a pleading look, but the senior agent nodded slightly towards Tony. Abby sighed, "Sure Tony. Call me Abby."

Tony nodded, "Certainly, Abby."

"Come on Tony." Ziva began, she walked past her partner and sighed, "We'd better get back upstairs."

Tony followed Ziva into the elevator, then turned to look at her as soon as the cold metal doors slid closed behind them.

"It appears that Abby does not like it that I am on this team."

Ziva sighed and nodded. "Give her time. She's a very nice person but… Kate was her best friend and now you're replacing her. She'll warm up to you, it just might take a while."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "Ms. Todd was your friend too though, yes?"

Ziva refused to meet Tony's eyes and the Mossad officer couldn't help but feel slightly guilty for bringing the subject up when Ziva whispered painfully, "Yes she was. The three of us were best friends."

Tony nodded, and felt the odd need to comfort the woman beside him. Before he was able to do so, however, the elevator doors opened and Ziva raced out.

Tony sighed before following her out. He was just about to sit down in his desk when Gibbs came walking through the bullpen. "Gear up."

Ziva and McGee quickly grabbed all of their belongings, so Tony did the same. He slid through the elevator doors just as they were about to close.

"Thanks for holding it." He mumbled under his breath and Ziva smirked, _If he thinks this is bad…_

The elevator doors slid open and Gibbs raced out, passing Ziva a slip of paper with an address as he barked, "Victim is 24 year-old Petty Officer David Brown. McGee, you're with me! DiNozzo and David in the other car!"

McGee flashed Ziva a helpless look and the senior agent smirked. Tony noticed this and questioned, "What is so funny?"

Ziva thought for a moment before speaking, "Gibbs has a… different style of driving than most people."

Tony nodded and Ziva chuckled, thinking of how unfortunate McGee was before throwing Tony the keys, which he easily caught. "You drive. I know these streets better so I'll tell you where to go."

* * *

**Lol, sorry but I put a little irony in the end there, seeing as Ziva's just saying how bad she feels for McGee for having to ride with Gibbs, then passes Tony (who drives like Ziva in the real NCIS) the keys. :p **

**Lol, anyways... so that was the first chapter. It's more setting the story up than anything else so don't worry, there will be more Tiva. (But I couldn't have too much Tiva right away because they don't really know eachother yet.) :D**

**So I hope you liked this first chapter, and I assure you there will be more to come! I've already written the next chapter and will post it either when I get 20 reviews (that's asking a lot so I have another option) or tommorow. Whichever one comes first. :) So, if you want the chapter sooner... review! Lol.**

**PS. For those who read A Walk To Remember, I purposefully ended it with a few strings untied because 1. Life is that way sometimes and that ending showed hope but was realistic about the struggles Tony and Ziva would face in the future and 2. because I'm thinking of doing a sequal on how they fall in love again and Ziva struggling to chose whether she should stay married Tony or not. (Since she doesn't remember who he is.) The problem is that if I do write a sequal, it will be a little late because I have to finish this story and start another one that I promised to write before making the sequal. So you tell me, sequal or no sequal? Thanks!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Aw.... Thanks for your reviews, I loved all the feedback. :D (I'm glad that you guys like this idea and that you've even noticed the small details that have changed in the characters, like the use contractions. Lol, I'm trying to think of even the small things like that, since I often find the details can really make something great, but feel free to tell me if I miss something.) Also, I was repeatedly encouraged to write that sequel to A Walk To Remember as soon as I have time, so that's just what I plan to do. :D

I should also probably mention that some people were concerned with Ziva being "easy" and don't worry. I didn't want that either so I changed it a little bit so that she's a flirt and a tease, but doesn't actually accept many invitations to dates. (I'm going to mention that in the next chapter of this story). Just thought I'd mention that, because I totally agree with you. I didn't want to have Ziva like that so I altered a few things, but I think that having her a flirt has the same effect on Tony, but reflects better off of her. Thanks for reading and enjoy!

* * *

"TONY!" Ziva cried out in horror, she closed her eyes as the Mossad officer swerved into the other lane, _just_ avoiding a collision with a red mini-van.

Tony chuckled at Ziva before glancing over at his new partner, "Don't be a pimp. My driving is not that bad."

"Yes it is!" Ziva shouted before looking at Tony in confusion, "Wait a minute… pimp?"

Ziva began to chuckle as she realized Tony's mistake, "I believe you mean 'wimp.'"

Tony rolled his eyes, "Whatever. English is not my first language."

Ziva ignored him and simply sighed in relief as the car pulled to a stop. She quickly opened the door and jumped out. "I survived!"

Tony chuckled again and Ziva glared at him, she would love that chuckle at any_ other _time_,_ but now it simply sounded evil.

Tony grinned at her and Ziva couldn't help but smile back. Again, she found herself appreciating how handsome the man was.

"See something you like?" Tony questioned and Ziva blushed. However, instead of looking away like most women would do, she flashed Tony a playful smile and leaned in so that their faces were less than an inch apart.

Tony's breath hitched and Ziva's smile widened at the small victory. Tony recovered quickly, however, and leaned in even closer so that they were almost touching. Ziva's eyes dropped to look at his lips, which twisted upwards in a smirk, "Something I can help you with, Zee-vah?"

His breath was warm on her face and Ziva couldn't help but shiver as he dragged out her name. Still, she recovered quickly and pulled back when Gibbs' car approached. McGee stepped out of the government-issued Challenger and looked at Tony and Ziva in amazement, "You drove faster than Gibbs?!"

Ziva glared at Tony who simply smirked. She then turned to look at Tim with an unimpressed look on her face, "Yes McGee. We did. It seems that Tony here has a_ death wish!"_

Tony simply smirked. "In Mossad, fast driving like mine has saved many lives."

"How many has it taken?" Ziva mumbled under her breath and Tony rolled his eyes.

"If you all want to chit-chat why don't you do it in the unemployment line!" Gibbs barked in order to get the teams' attention. "McGee, shoot and sketch. David, talk to the neighbours. DiNozzo…"

Gibbs looked around for a moment then sighed, "Go with David."

All three agents silently went to do as told. Tony and Ziva began walking to the first house while McGee took pictures of the crime scene. Ziva took in her surroundings as she knocked on the door and waited for the house's owners to answer.

David Brown lived in a typical middle-class neighbourhood… not the most common place for such a brutal murder. The petty officer had been stabbed twenty-three times before his killer finally fled the scene of the crime.

"Hello?" Ziva looked up to see a tall, muscular man with tanned skin and dark brown hair open the door. He took an appreciative look at Ziva before questioning, "Can I help you?"

Ziva smiled back flirtatiously and Tony rolled his eyes before stepping forward so that he was partially blocking the man's view of Ziva. "We're with NCIS. Do you mind answering a few questions?"

"NCIS?" The man questioned and Ziva stepped around Tony.

"It stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service. My partner and I here," Ziva said while motioning to Tony, "Would really appreciate it if you answer a few questions."

"No problem." The man smiled at Ziva before stepping back and opening the door to allow them entrance. Ziva brushed past him with a smile.

"Is your wife home?" She asked not-so-subtly and Tony rolled his eyes.

"I'm not married." The man answered with a smile that Ziva happily returned. Tony couldn't help but feel his anger rise a little bit.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and both Ziva and the man looked at him in surprise, they'd forgotten he was there. "If you could answer some questions?"

"Oh." The man smiled at Tony, then looked at Ziva and subtly checked her out, making Tony's blood boil for a reason he couldn't explain.

_I just met this woman. Why am I so possessive of her?_ He questioned himself, then softly shook his head. _Not possessive. Protective. I am simply trying to watch out for my partner._

"Tony!" Ziva snapped her fingers in front of Tony's face, forcing the Mossad officer out of his thoughts. "The man has offered us a seat, now come on!"

Tony nodded before following Ziva into the living room where she, much to Tony's dismay, sat next to the man on the couch. Tony sighed and sat down in a lounge chair before leaning forward.

"What can you tell us about David Brown, Mr…."

"Harver. John Harver." The man paused for a moment and looked at Tony suspiciously, "Why? What's wrong?"

Tony looked at Ziva, who nodded, before turning to look at John. "Mr. Brown was found dead in his bedroom this morning. He was murdered."

"David?" John asked in shock, "But… who would want to kill him?"

"That's what we were about to ask you." Ziva spoke up, then began to take control of the investigation, "Did Mr. Brown have any enemies?"

"Dave?" John asked once in disbelief, he thought for a moment before shaking his head, "No. Dave got along well with everyone. I couldn't think of any reason why someone would want to hurt him, never mind kill him."

Ziva nodded slowly, taking notes as she questioned, "Has he been acting oddly at all lately, or have you noticed anything suspicious?"

Once again John shook his head, "No. I mean… Everything seemed normal. He didn't say that anything was wrong."

"And—" Ziva was cut off by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She looked at the caller ID. _Gibbs._

"Excuse me." Ziva offered and John smiled no problem. He watched Ziva walk out of the room, completely oblivious to the glare being sent his way by Tony.

"So," John began as he turned to look at Tony, "What's it like working with _her?"_

"Ziva?" Tony questioned as if he didn't know what the man was talking about, "It is fine I guess, although it does get annoying when she constantly talks about her fiancé."

"She's getting married?" The man asked, his smile faltered when Tony nodded.

"Yes. To some Richard, that's probably him on the phone right now."

"Oh." John didn't do a very good job at hiding the disappointment on his face. When Ziva walked back in the room, he flashed her a weak smile.

Ziva smiled back, "I am sorry John, but Officer DiNozzo and I must go. Would it be alright if we got a number to contact you by in case we have any more questions?"

"Oh." John pulled a pen out from his pocket and grabbed a pad from the table next to him. He wrote his phone number down before turning to Tony and handing it to him. "That's fine. Anything that would help."

"Thank you sir." Tony smiled, pleased with himself for fooling the man, before standing up and following Ziva out of the house. "What did Gibbs have to say?"

Ziva didn't even bother to ask how Tony knew it was Gibbs who called, she simply answered his question. "He said that drugs were found in Mr. Brown's dresser. It's most likely heroin but Abby will confirm that for us. Still, if this guy was taking drugs than we have a fresh bunch of suspects."

Tony nodded. He walked next to Ziva as they approached Gibbs and McGee, who were just putting the evidence into the car. Gibbs turned to look at them, "What did you learn?"

Ziva sighed and shook her head, "Not much Gibbs. Just that Brown was well-liked by everyone."

"Not everyone." McGee stated as he walked up to the group, "He was stabbed twenty-three times. That's overkill, meaning that whoever killed Brown knew him. This was personal."

"Okay, back to headquarters. DiNozzo and David find out everything you can about David Brown. Personal, professional, whatever. McGee, bring the evidence to Abby, then take a look at Brown's bank records. See how he was doing financially, if he owned any outstanding debts that didn't look like they were going to be paid any time soon."

Gibbs get in the driver's side of one of the chargers, "McGee you're with me. DiNozzo and David in the other car." He paused a minute before adding, "Ziva's driving!"

~~~NCIS~~~

"I got something!" McGee announced as he stood up and walked around his desk so that he was standing in front of the big-screen TV. Everyone else followed suit and Tim waited until everyone could see the screen before pulling up David Brown's bank records.

"It seems that our petty officer has been losing cash fast over the past few months. All withdrawals have been made in cash, and were large but just under the amount that would tip off the computers that something may be wrong. Judging by the drugs we found in Brown's dresser, which Abby identified as cocaine, it's not hard to imagine where that money was going to."

"Who's his supplier?" Gibbs asked and McGee pulled up another image.

"This is Richard Jones, a known supplier. His customers know him only as 'Rick.' He was a suspect in the murder of Mark Owens after the man was unable to repay his drug debt, but the police weren't able to hold anything against him."

McGee took a deep breath before finishing, "Jones deals in downtown DC, but the police are never able to bring him down… So far someone else has taken the fall for him whenever they've tried."

Gibbs looked around at each of his agents. "If Jones is responsible for this murder, we're not going to let him walk away a free man. I want him on tape selling drugs and confessing to the murder of David Brown." Gibbs sighed, "DiNozzo, David. You're on first for stakeout duty."

* * *

**Okay... so again, this chapter is still setting up the rest of the story, but I did manage to put a little bit of Tiva interaction with Tony's jealousy over the neighbour hitting on Ziva. Anyways... Tony and Ziva are going to be on stakeout together. :) Which I see as the perfect opportunity for them to bond. :D Thanks for reading and let me know how I'm doing!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Okay…. So this chapter is longer and it basically is centered around Tony and Ziva on the stakeout, getting to know each other better. I won't say much in this Author's Note because I have a longer one at the bottom, so enjoy!

* * *

Ziva sighed as she looked around the small, dirty apartment that she and Tony would be spending the next eight hours in.

The room had a window that overlooked the street below where it was rumoured that Richard Jones did most of his business. Ziva was amazed that, despite how much they knew about him, 'Rick' was still free of being in police custody. Then again, she knew all too well that a smart enough criminal could get away with almost anything.

Gibbs also looked around the room. Although it wasn't the nicest looking place, it blended in perfectly with all the other apartments so Rick wouldn't notice anything was off.

Smirking, Gibbs crossed the room and stopped in front of Tony, where he held out his hands. The Mossad officer looked confused so Gibbs clarified, "You are to take no action against Rick at any time. If anything comes up, you call me. Don't try taking him down yourself. I need him alive so hand over your weapons so that the temptation isn't too much."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I have Mossad training Gibbs, I am sure that I can control myself."

Still, Gibbs didn't back down but simply glared at Tony until the Mossad officer gave in. He handed Gibbs his gun, but the older man simply raised an eyebrow to show he knew there was more.

Tony sighed before handing over at least a dozen knives. Gibbs smirked at him, "Alright DiNozzo, you can keep the last knife. Just don't use it unless absolutely necessary."

Ziva waited until Gibbs left before looking at the several computers McGee had set up to display the feed from their video-cameras. She let out a sigh of frustration, "Eight hours."

"Eight hours is not so long." Tony spoke up from directly behind Ziva, causing her to jump.

Tony noticed this and smirked, but Ziva simply rolled her eyes. As hot as the man behind her was, Ziva had learned in the past four days that he could also be extremely irritating. Yet, she still couldn't help but feel attracted to him.

"It's long enough." She replied in frustration. "In a place like this, eight hours is an eternity."

Tony rolled his eyes but didn't respond. Instead, he walked over to Ziva and sat down next to her in front of the computers. They sat in silence for a few moments until Ziva questioned, "So is it true that you and Abby are getting along better now?"

Tony smirked, "Yes. She has definitely… warmed up to me." _The CafPow I bought her did wonders for her attitude._

Ziva's head snapped to look at Tony as she mistook his words, "Did you ask her out?"

The Mossad officer smirked and raised an eyebrow, "Why do you want to know, Zee-vah?"

Ziva felt the blood rush to her face, but refused to show any other sign of embarrassment, "I was simply thinking about McGee."

The smile disappeared from Tony's face, but he quickly plastered it back on, "Are you two… more than co-workers?"

Ziva blinked in surprise, completely oblivious to the slightly hurt look in Tony's eyes.

"No!" She practically shouted once regaining her composure, "I just meant that McGee… he has feelings for Abby. Serious feelings. So I wouldn't date her if I were you."

Tony smirked and leaned in towards Ziva, "Are you sure that is why you don't want me to date Abby?"

Ziva faked a confident smile as she too leaned forward so that their faces were now less than an inch apart. "I'm sure."

Her eyes met his in order to prove her confidence, but the look quickly changed into something more meaningful. Tony's dark green eyes gazed into her chocolate brown ones, and both partners began to lean in towards the other.

Tony's lips were almost on top of hers when Ziva's phone beeped. Both agents pulled back quickly, the blood rushing to their faces as Ziva pulled out her phone.

She swore softly under her breath before looking up at Tony who had slipped into 'Mossad mode' so that Ziva wouldn't see the affect she had on him. "My battery is almost dead. I must've forgotten to put my cell phone in the charger last night."

Tony smirked and their awkward moment was immediately forgotten. "This will get you in trouble with Gibbs, yes?"

Ziva rolled her eyes, "Yes."

"What is in it for me if help you out of this… dilemma?"

Ziva glared at Tony, "If you help me, I won't shoot you."

Tony raised his eyebrows and smirked, "You do remember that I am a trained Mossad assassin, right? I know how to kill you 18 different ways with a paperclip… your gun does not scare me."

Ziva's smile faltered upon this new revelation of Tony's… skill with paperclips. Taking one look at the man before her, however, she smirked. "You would never kill me." She stated with a confidence that made Tony raise his eyebrows.

_Probably true. _

"What makes you so sure?" He questioned and Ziva's smirk grew more confident.

"Because if you killed me, Gibbs would kill you."

Tony considered Ziva's words for a moment before commenting, "Yes, I do recall reading in your dossier that the two of you were close."

Ziva's head snapped up to look at Tony, "My dossier?"

Tony looked at Ziva oddly, "Yes. I did a dossier on anyone I might encounter while working with NCIS. It is a normal thing for Mossad officers to do."

Ziva looked at the Tony carefully before rolling her eyes, "You do not know anything about me."

The Mossad officer raised his eyebrows and looked at his partner before deciding to prove his point.

"Ziva David. Born to a very wealthy Miriam and Eli David. Raised solely by your father after Miriam passed away when you were four years of age. Your father married four times after your mother's passing, yet he never had any other children. He disinherited you at age eighteen when you stressed that you did not desire to major in business and take over the family company once he retired. You then went to Ohio State University where you became known for your carefree outlook on dating. Still, despite what many people thought, you did not go out on many dates. You love to flirt but rarely take things any further, which is most likely due to your fear of commitment."

Tony smirked at the surprised look on Ziva's face as he continued, "You then went on to work as a detective for Baltimore PD. Seven years ago, you began working under Leroy Jethro Gibbs as a special agent at NCIS. You befriended Abigail Scuito, forensic scientist and--"

"Where did you find all this information on me?" Ziva demanded, a little unnerved by how much Tony seemed to know about her.

The Mossad officer smirked, "I have my sources."

Ziva glared at Tony before getting an idea, "You know so much about me. It is only fair that you tell me about yourself."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "And why would you want to know about my life?"

Ziva paused. Of course she couldn't tell him the real reason she wanted to learn more about him. He wouldn't understand the odd connection she felt to him, in fact, she didn't even understand it herself.

She'd never felt this way about any man before, so the feelings she had towards him were unknown and unusual to her. The worst part of it was that this odd connection, which she couldn't quite place, seemed to grow with every passing day.

Somehow, Anthony DiNozzo intrigued her, and Ziva wanted, perhaps even _needed_, to know more about him. Instead of explaining that though, Ziva shrugged. "You are my partner. We'll be working together and putting our lives in each others hands. This means that we have to trust each other, something that is very difficult to do if there are secrets between us."

Tony crossed his arms defiantly and Ziva sighed, "Come on. Just tell me. We've got nothing else to do here but talk anyways."

When Tony still didn't offer any personal information, Ziva rolled her eyes. "Come on. You've gotta have something. Where'd you grow up? Who was your best childhood friend? What about siblings? You have any brothers or sisters? What are they like?"

If possible, Tony grew even quieter at Ziva's words. He didn't say anything, but stood up from his seat next to Ziva and walked over to the window. An emotionless mask slid over his face as he tried to forget the horrible memories of his childhood.

Ziva looked at her partner in concern. Guilt assaulted her as she realized it was something she said that had hurt him. Standing up, she quickly closed the distance between them and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. The Mossad officer turned to look at his partner, and the cold, emotionless expression on his face startled her.

Although Ziva had only met him two weeks ago, the man before her was not the Tony she'd come to know. Instead of a playful smile or knowing smirk, his lips formed a flat line. The eyes she often found herself staring into were no longer sparkling with amusement, but cold and distant.

"Tony?" Ziva questioned, but the Mossad officer refused to acknowledge her.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Ziva tried again, this time in a softer tone. Tony stared into Ziva's eyes for a few moments, as if trying to evaluate whether her concern was real or not and whether he could trust her. After finally deciding that he could, Tony sighed.

"Growing up in Israel was not always a... pleasurable experience. I have lost many people close to me due to Hamas bombings or feuds between Israel and Palestine."

Tony closed his eyes as he recalled one particularly horrible day. "One day, when I was fifteen years old, Hamas terrorists set off a bomb in the market. My sister, named Maria after my mother who died after giving birth to her, was killed immediately. She was only eight years old at the time."

Tony paused for a moment before continuing, "Maria was still innocent, she was too young to understand the horrors that surrounded her. I remember feeling guilty for years that I wasn't there to protect her. I often wished that I could have taken her place."

Tony closed his eyes in pain, and when he opened them again, he was surprised to see such compassion in Ziva's eyes.

"I'm sorry Tony."

"So am I." Tony answered honestly and Ziva offered him a weak smile which he returned. They simply stood that way for a few moments with Ziva's heart breaking for the man before her until Tony ran a hand through his hair.

"When are Gibbs and McGee going to take over?"

Ziva smirked at him and teased, "What? Am I that bad of company?"

Tony chuckled but decided to have some fun with her and stay silent, letting her draw her own conclusions.

"I am?" She questioned in disbelief while trying her best to keep the pain out of her voice. _Why is it so important for him to like me?_

Ziva was nothing if not confident, and she'd never worried over whether people liked her or not. Still, the idea that Tony might not care for her was nearly unbearable and she didn't understand why. She shook her head gently. _I simply want to get along with my partner. After all, I do put my life in his hands everyday..._

Tony watched as Ziva's eyes took on a far-away look, leaving no doubt that she was lost in thought. The Mossad officer felt both guilty and hopeful upon seeing the hurt look in Ziva's eyes.  
It was four days ago that Tony had first realized his feelings for Ziva. The whole team, minus Gibbs, had gone out for drinks after work. His partner had worn her hair down and Tony found himself staring at her all night.

When some guy started hitting on Ziva, Tony had to use all of his self-control not to hurt the man. Ziva had flirted with him, causing Tony's hatred for the stranger to grow, but she eventually sent him away so she could enjoy a night out with her friends.

Later that night, when Tony was alone in bed, he was unable to sleep because he kept thinking about Ziva and the man, questioning why men had to be so attracted to her and why she never discouraged them. It was then that he began wondering just what his feelings for his partner were. After all, he'd had plenty of partners in Mossad, but he'd never felt as strongly for any of them as he did for Ziva.

Sure, he was attracted to her, but somehow Tony knew that it was something more... He'd come to care for her. Although Tony couldn't quite name his feelings for Ziva, they grew every day. Now, seeing the hurt look in her eyes made him feel guilty for hurting her, but also gave him hope that she might feel the same way. After all, why else would she care so much whether he liked her or not?

"Tony?"

The Mossad officer snapped out of his thoughts to see his partner staring up at him in concern. He flashed Ziva a grin before picking up their previous conversation.

"You sure seem concerned about what I think of you." He commented and Ziva's back stiffened.

"I do not care."

Tony chuckled, and rolled his eyes. "Ah Ziva, you forget that I am Mossad. I know how to tell when people are lying." Ziva stopped smiling but Tony flashed her a reassuring grin, "Do not worry Ziva, I do not mind spending time with you, I simply hate being looped up like this, so I want Gibbs and McGee to take over."

"Cooped." Ziva corrected automatically to cover up her relief that Tony didn't hate her, "You hate being _cooped_ up like this so you want Gibbs and McGee to take over."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Whatever." He brushed past Ziva, very aware of the fact that she was checking him out. A soft smile crossed Tony's face, _She does care._

"Ziva?" Tony questioned and Ziva raised her eyebrows to show she was listening, "It appears that 'Rick' is making another deal. Even if we don't catch him for David Brown's murder, Richard Jones will not be able to defend himself against drug dealing charges."

Ziva looked at the screen and saw that Tony was right, she smirked and pulled out her phone. "I'll call Gibbs and tell him what we have."

* * *

**:) I hope you liked this chapter (please review if you did!). I'm not the happiest with the way it came out, but wanted to give you guys an update today. Besides, I thought you'd like the fact that Tony and Ziva have both realized their feelings for each other, yet they both don't fully understand their "connection" to the other. (Don't worry, I fully plan on making them understand that "connection" later on in the story.) **

**I won't say much about the next chapter, except for the fact that I'm pretty sure you'll want to read it and, if I use the idea I currently have for it, you may hate me, lol. Anyways… I'll leave you to wonder what I mean with that. Thanks for reading! :)**

**PS. I want to thank LoT56 for the idea of Gibbs taking away Tony's weapons like he did to Ziva. I actually hadn't thought of that but I like it, it's a very Gibbs thing to do and will (sorry) come back to haunt Tony and Ziva in the next chapter! :)**

**Hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note:So... This chapter is a little bit on the shorter side but I wanted to update and I just _had_ to stop at the place that I did. (Even though you may disagree and wish I'd gone further:p) Anyways, I want to thank you all for your reviews. I'm sorry for the delays between chapters, but my parents are forcing me to use every extra second I have to look for a summer job (which I don't even want, so.... that sucks:P) Anyways... Enjoy!

* * *

Tony watched Ziva leave the room, then turned his attention to the screen where Richard Jones was still making his deal with the unknown stranger. When the conversation began to turn into a heated argument, Tony turned the volume of the recording up higher so he could better hear what they were saying.

The stranger who was buying the drugs began pleading for Rick's patience, "Come on man. I'll get you the money. I'm good on my word I just don't have the cash right now."

"No." Rick smiled cruelly and shook his head while pressing a gun to the stranger's temple. "No way, _man._ Your debts are overdue. No money, no drugs."

"Please Rick," The stranger closed his eyes as he tried to prepare himself for the bullet that was almost sure to come. "I swear I'll get you the money. I don't have it now but I _need_ the stuff. I can't even think straight I need it so bad. If… if you give me just a little bit I'll have the money ready for you in three days."

Rick began sucking his teeth as he considered the man's offer. Finally, he pressed the gun harder to the man's head. "What if you can't find the money."

"I will." The stranger promised as he finally dared to open his eyes.

Rick took the gun away from the other man's head and took a step back. "You have until one o'clock tomorrow. Be here, waiting, by that time. If you're not…" Rick trailed off and let the man's imagination take over.

"Tomorrow? I need more time than that?!"

Rick let out a low, threatening chuckle as his mouth twisted into a cruel smirk. He suddenly took a step forward and punched the man in the stomach, causing the stranger to double over in pain and throw up before Rick backed off again with a look of hatred on his face.

"You don't _have _more time than that. Tomorrow. One o'clock. That's it!"

The stranger nodded but was still doubled over in pain when Rick leaned in to his ear. Tony was just able to make out his whisper.

"You think that's bad, it'll be much worse tomorrow if you don't have my money."

The stranger nodded and Rick took a step back in satisfaction before deciding intimidate the man further.

"Trust me Chris, you're the lucky one. I've gone easy on you so far, but if you don't have my money by tomorrow I won't hold back." Rick chuckled cruelly before continuing, "In fact, just the other day another one of my customers was in your situation. He didn't have the money and you know what I did?"

Chris looked absolutely miserable as he shook his head slowly, Rick waited until the man stood back up to his full height before telling him the previous customer's fate.

"I killed him."

Chris's eyes grew wide with terror but Rick was obviously enjoying the man's fear. He stepped towards him and pointed the gun to his temple again.

Tears slid down Chris's cheeks as he continued to beg Rick. "Please, I have a wife and kids that need me. I'll get you the money just don't kill me."

Tony heard the familiar click of the safety of a gun being taken off as Rick pushed the gun harder against the middle-class man's temple. "Get me the money _by tomorrow_ or I'll kill you, and your precious little family too."

Rick took a step back from the man and stared him in the face, "But I'm sure that you don't want to end up like David Brown do you? I'm sure you've heard all about it in the news. He was just a regular guy like you. Middle class, lived in a nice neighbourhood and, oh yeah…. He didn't give me my money either."

After staring at Chris for a few more minutes, Rick smirked when he was sure that the man had gotten the message. "Leave now before I change my mind."

Chris eagerly began running out of the alley and into the busy street, shaking with fear as he heard Rick's threatening voice call after him. "One o'clock!"

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony smiled as Rick watched Chris leave. _We've got you._

Ziva walked back in the room and Tony jumped to his feet. "We have him. Rick just confessed to a customer named Chris in order to scare the guy into paying up. They have set up a meeting for tomorrow, the same place, at one o'clock."

Ziva smiled happily, making Tony's heart skip a beat as she reached for her coat. Tony ignored the odd sensation in his chest and questioned, "Where are you going?"

"To follow Rick back to wherever he's staying and wherever he's keeping those drugs. Gibbs will be happy about this. We've been trying to catch Jones for years now yet he's always managed to slip away. Still, there's no way he's going to be able to get out of this one, we have too much evidence."

"Gibbs said not to take any action and simply to call him." Tony reminded and Ziva paused only for a second before continuing to gather her things.

"I will not take any action. I'm simply going to find out where Rick is staying so that we can arrest his 'business associates' too. We may even find the drugs and stop them from ever reaching the streets."

Ziva was just about to leave the room when Tony grabbed her arm. "I will go, you stay here and make sure you get everything on tape."

Ziva shook her head, "I'm senior agent, I'm going."

Tony glared at Ziva, _does she not realize that this is dangerous?! _

There was no way that he was going to let her get hurt. "Ziva, I am Mossad. I am trained for this sort of thing. I will follow him without raising any suspicion."

Ziva shook her head, _He's being so stupid, this guy could kill him!_

Although Tony made a pretty good point, there was no way she was going to let him get hurt.

"No. You stay here, I'm going." Ziva ordered, then looked around the room to notice that Tony had already left while she was thinking. Ziva swore softly at herself but went to the computers to watch what was happening.

_So far so good…_

Tony was following about twenty meters behind Richard Jones and the man didn't suspect a thing. Still, Ziva couldn't help but feel nervous when Rick turned into an alley where they didn't have any surveillance. Tony followed him subtly and Ziva swore as she realized what Rick was doing.

Not even bothering to grab her coat or put on her bullet-proof vest, Ziva ran out the door. All thoughts of her own safety were pushed aside as she exited the apartment building and began running down the street in the direction that Rick had led Tony.

She knew that letting Tony follow Jones was a bad idea, and now Rick had tricked her partner into following him into a deserted alley with no surveillance.

When Ziva reached the alley, she didn't even bother to use caution and simply turned the corner. On the other side of the dark alleyway was her partner at the gunpoint of Richard Jones.

"Tony!"

The Mossad officer whirled around and his eyes grew wide when he saw Ziva. Regret washed over him as he realized that she was now in danger too.

Tony swore under his breath. If Ziva hadn't come, he would've been able to get out of the situation. Now it was just too risky, if he made one wrong move, it could cost Ziva her life… a price that Tony wasn't willing to pay.

Even from this distance Tony could tell that Ziva was kicking herself. _And so she should!_

Tony felt his temper flare. _I told her to stay inside so that she would not get hurt! Does she not realize that Rick will not hesitate to kill her?!_

Seeing the silent exchange between the two partners, Rick smirked. It was obvious that they cared for each other and that, Rick realized, was his way out of here.

If anything happened to one of them, he'd be forgotten while the other ran to their rescue.

Smiling cruelly, Rick chose the easier of the two victims. In less than a second he disabled the safety on his gun and pointed it at Ziva.

Ziva noticed this and reached for her weapon, but it was too late. There was nothing she could do except brace herself for the pain that Rick's bullets would bring as three gunshots ran out in the alleyway.

* * *

**Ah.... The cliffhanger. :P I love them. :D **

**Anyways... Just one thing. Remember in the last chapter when Gibbs took Tony's weapons and I said that it would come back to haunt them? Well, say hello to the haunt. Tony doesn't have a gun and Ziva wasn't able to use hers, so there's no "Tony-pulls-out-a-gun-in-the-last-second-and-shoots-Rick-to-save-Ziva" thing going on here. The bullets are coming from Rick's gun. There's no doubt about that. :P Just thought I'd let you worry over that little tid-bit of information until I can update. (Which will hopefully be soon.)**

**Anyways... I hope you (despite the ending) liked this chapter. Please review!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: I want to start off by saying I AM SO SORRY! It took me _forever_ to update, but I honestly haven't had a chance before this. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I had a good reason. My Grandpa had a heartattack, so I was in the hospital for _hours. _So... Yes, I didn't update, but I hope you understand why.I hope you haven't lost interest in this story because it took me so long to get this chapter up. :S Anyways, I put a small recap at the beginning so you could remember what happened last. This is a short chapter, but _very_ important and a lot happens. Anyways... enjoy!

* * *

**Tony felt his temper flare. **_**I told her to stay inside so that she would not get hurt! Does she not realize that Rick will not hesitate to kill her?!**_

**Seeing the silent exchange between the two partners, Rick smirked. It was obvious that they cared for each other and that, Rick realized, was his way out of here.**

**If anything happened to one of them, he'd be forgotten while the other ran to their rescue.**

**Smiling cruelly, Rick chose the easier of the two victims. In less than a second he disabled the safety on his gun and pointed it at Ziva.**

**Ziva noticed this and reached for her weapon, but it was too late. There was nothing she could do except brace herself for the pain that Rick's bullets would bring as three gunshots ran out in the alleyway.

* * *

**

The moment Rick pointed his gun at Ziva, Tony's heart skipped a beat. A cold sweat broke out on his brow but he was so focused on the danger that Ziva was in that he didn't bother to wipe it away.

Though he had been in many dangerous situations, and this one paled in comparison to them, Tony had never been more terrified in his entire life.

The cruel smirk on Rick's face showed that he knew exactly what he was knew what Ziva meant to Tony, and he knew that Tony would immediately run to her aide and leave him alone if Ziva was shot--He knew Tony wouldn't be willing to risk wasting precious time to take Rick down while his partner bled out.

When the smirk grew wider and an evil glint entered Rick's eyes, Tony's heart sank as he became sure of the other man's intentions. _He's going to kill her._

It was clear that Rick's finger was itching to pull the trigger and when Ziva reached for her gun, he did just that.

The moment Rick's finger twitched, however, Tony leapt into action. With one swift move he kicked the gun out of the criminal's hand. Three bullets escaped the barrel, but missed Rick's original target when Tony kicked the gun away.

Tony tackled Rick to the ground, but the man quickly overcame his shock and began fighting back. Tony managed to pin him to the ground, but Rick flipped the Mossad officer over so that he was now towering over Tony.

Ziva ran to the fight as fast as she could, but watched in horror as Rick's fist connected with Tony's jaw. Richard then grabbed his gun and pressed it to Tony's chest--right over his heart.

Ziva immediately drew her gun and pointed it at Rick. Her heart was pounding, but rage instantly filled her when Rick punched Tony again.

"Drop the gun!" Ziva ordered, and she mentally cursed herself for letting her voice crack.

Rick raised an eyebrow and let out a humourless chuckle. "You drop the gun, or I will _kill_ him."

Tony's eyes showed no fear, but Ziva wasn't so successful in masking her emotions. Anyone could see the terror on her face and her hands began to shake.

"Drop the gun now!" She ordered again, but Rick smirked knowingly.

"You will not risk shooting me while I could kill your... 'friend' here. Now if you don't put your gun down, I'm afraid I'll have no other choice than to put a bullet through this man's heart."

Ziva's finger itched to pull the trigger, but tears filled her eyes as she realized how disastrous the results would be if she gave into that temptation.

Ziva knew that Rick would not need to think twice about killing Tony, so she fought back her tears and slowly lowered her gun.

"Okay, just..." Ziva took a deep breath as she placed her gun on the ground, "Let's just stay calm and think about this."

Rick rolled his eyes, "There's not much to think about. Now Kick the gun away."

Ziva did as told and Rick flashed her an evil smile, "You just signed both your death warrants."

Regret washed over Ziva, but before she could even begin to formulate a plan, Rick gasped. He let out a grunt of pain before rolling to the side, off of Tony. His hands automatically went to his stomach, where Ziva saw Tony's knife.

She let out a sigh of relief before quickly retrieving her gun and pointing it at Rick to make sure he didn't try anything while Tony cuffed the man.

After standing up, the Mossad officer looked at Ziva, "Call 911. He will live but needs medical attention."

Ziva nodded and did as told while Tony did what he could to care for Rick. As much as he wanted the man dead, Tony knew that keeping Rick alive was vital if they ever wanted to find the people he worked with.

The paramedics arrived and Tony was glad to let them take over with Rick. The Mossad officer glared at the wounded man before him as the paramedics carried Rick away.

Although Tony knew letting Rick live was the right thing to do and important to NCIS, there was nothing he would like better than to kill the man.

"Tony."

Ziva gently placed a hand on her partner's shoulder, she needed to know if he was okay.

When Tony didn't respond, Ziva began to worry that Rick had hurt him.

"Tony are you okay?" Her tone was a little more urgent than before, but Tony still refused to answer her, so Ziva stood infront of him.

Tony finally met her gaze, but Ziva almost took a step back at the anger in his eyes.

"I _told_ you to stay inside while I followed Richard." Tony spat, barely able to keep his voice level.

Ziva's back went stiff as she realized that Tony was blaming her. "And I told _you_ to stay inside while _I_ followed Rick. This never would've happened if you obeyed orders!"

"Orders?!" Tony glared at Ziva, "What would you know about orders?! Gibbs specifically ordered us _not_ to take any action! You were the one who chose to disobey him, I only went in your place because you were going to get yourself killed!"

"Like you were about to get yourself killed?! If I had followed Rick, I never would've followed him into this alley and none of this would ever have happened!"

"None of this would have happened if _you_ didn't come running after me into the alley without precaution. I could have taken care of Richard if you had not followed me!"

"Well, so-rry!" Ziva spat, "Forgive me for being worried about you and not wanting to see you dead!"

"You did not think your actions through!" Tony yelled, he ignored the people that had begun to stare. He didn't care about what they thought, he simply cared about Ziva. That was why he was so angry. It wasn't the fact that Ziva had tried to save him, it was the fact that she'd almost gotten herself killed in the process that made him angry.

He had only gone out to follow Rick so that Ziva wouldn't. The whole point was to protect Ziva, and when she ran into the alley without her bullet-proof vest on or even having her weapon drawn, she'd nearly gotten herself killed. Tony had never been so scared as when Rick pointed his gun at Ziva, and that was what he was truly angry about.

Tony had always been exceptional at his work. He learned quickly, read people well and, so far, succeeded in every mission thrown at him. This was all due to his ability to keep his emotions out of his job. The moment you allow your feelings to take over, Tony knew that you are as good as dead.

It was for this reason that Tony never allowed himself to become attached to anyone or anything. He always distanced himself emotionally so that his feelings would never interfere with work.

Since being in America, however, Tony had let his guard down. He was no longer all-business but had also learned to enjoy himself. Living in America had taught Tony that having emotions was not a sign of weakness, rather, it took strength.

Still, everything changed the moment Rick pointed his gun at Ziva. It was only then that Tony knew true fear. He wasn't scared for himself or the situation he was in, he was scared for _Ziva._

Tony had known long before entering that alley that he cared for Ziva, but he'd never truly realized how dangerous those feelings could prove to be. Tony had let his feelings for Ziva impair his judgment... and it almost got them both killed.

To be truthful, Tony wasn't angry with Ziva, he was angry with himself. He was lashing out at his partner not out of anger, but out of fear. He knew it too, but he'd never admit it. No, because although Tony had known before this incident that he could never tell Ziva that he cared for her, he was sure of it now.

Tony knew that his original theory was right. Feelings interfered with work. They distracted you, and lead to many good people's deaths. Feelings were dangerous, and Tony now knew for sure that they, at any cost, must be suppressed and _never_ expressed. No matter what the end result, Tony had to let go of the feelings he had for Ziva.

"If you _had_ thought your actions through," Tony didn't miss a beat in continuing with their argument, "You would have entered the alley with caution. Your gun would have been drawn and you would have been wearing your bullet-proof vest. Instead, you acted recklessly, not thinking your actions through, and in the end, nearly getting both of us killed!"

"Well forgive me for trying to save you Tony. Forgive me for putting my life at risk just to save yours. _Forgive me_ for acting from the heart!"

Ziva paused, her eyes growing slightly wider at what she'd just revealed. When Tony's face remained masked, Ziva closed her eyes in pain before turning sharply on her heel and stalking out of the alley.

* * *

**Wow. I know this was short and took a long time to update, and I don't mean to sound cocky, but I gotta say that I love this chapter. Ziva's probably kicking herself right now, but what will Tony do? He he he... He really cares for Ziva, but remember that he just swore to himself, "No matter what the end result, Tony had to let go of the feelings he had for Ziva."**

**:D I'll leave you all to dwell on that very depressing little thought until I update. :p Which will hopefully be soon. Thanks for sticking with this story (sorry again for the infrequent updates!) and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Ah! Again, I'm so sorry for the wait, but things have been a little crazy lately. I had to look for a summer job, which I will be starting soon, leaving me with even _less_ time to write! Anyways, thanks for your concerns about my grandpa. He's doing a lot better now, so... that's good. :) Again, I hope the long waiting for updates isn't discouraging anybody from reading this story, because I think it has a lot of potential and I'm hoping to get better at updating quickly. :) Thanks for reading this story and enjoy!

* * *

_Flashback_

"If you _had_ thought your actions through," Tony didn't miss a beat in continuing with their argument, "You would have entered the alley with caution. Your gun would have been drawn and you would have been wearing your bullet-proof vest. Instead, you acted recklessly, not thinking your actions through, and in the end, nearly getting both of us killed!"

"Well forgive me for trying to save you Tony. Forgive me for putting my life at risk just to save yours. _Forgive me_ for acting from the heart!"

Ziva paused, her eyes growing slightly wider at what she'd just revealed. When Tony's face remained masked, Ziva closed her eyes in pain before turning sharply on her heel and stalking out of the alley.

* * *

As soon as Ziva was out of sight, she began to run. The NCIS special agent refused to let the tears that were burning the back of her eyes fall.

Crying was a sign of weakness--something she had shown enough of today.

After sprinting for five blocks, Ziva turned into a deserted alley and sunk to the ground. She gasped for air, her lungs feeling as if they were on fire. Despite the pain in her chest, however, Ziva was in a state of disbelief. She couldn't believe this was happening.

One hour ago she and Tony were joking around and teasing each other. One hour ago they were bonding and Ziva was wondering if Tony might return her feelings. She'd allowed herself to believe that he cared for her as she cared for him. One _minute_ ago, she realized how wrong she was.

_"Forgive me for acting from the heart!"_

The look on Tony's face after she had said those words felt like a slap in the face.

The Mossad officer had rid his face of all emotion, managing to reject Ziva and hurt her more than she'd like to admit all without uttering a single word.

There was nothing Ziva wanted more than to believe that Tony had truly understood her words, that he hadn't realized that she cared for him. Still, there was no way that she could deny that he had understood. _And how could he have not? _

_I told him that I feared for his life and put my own in danger because I was 'acting from the heart!'_

How more obvious could she be? Besides, even if it was possible to overlook something so obvious, it was very unlikely that an officer of Mossad would do so. Not only that, but one look at Tony's face after she'd spoken and anyone could tell that he'd understood.  
That was why it hurt so much when he didn't say anything.

Ziva could only find one explanation as to why Tony hadn't confessed that he shared her feelings, and that reason was that he _didn't_ share them.

Almost every man that had ever met Ziva had developed some sort of crush on her, and this was the first time that the beautiful NCIS agent had to deal with unrequited love.

It was a feeling she didn't like.

Ziva was forced out of her thoughts when her cellphone vibrated against her hip. Sighing, Ziva looked at the caller ID. _Tony._

Ziva's hand reached out to answer the phone, then paused in the air as she hesitated. She wasn't quite ready to face him yet. On the other hand, however, the sooner damage control was done, the better.

Ziva sighed and ran a hand through her hair before deciding.

"David." She answered, her voice cold. The other side was silent for a few seconds before Tony's voice came over the phone.

"Where are you Ziva?"

_Crap._ Ziva ran a hand through her hair as she realized how stupid it was of her to run from the alley. Now she'd better find a good excuse for her actions before the situation with Tony grew even worse.

Looking up and down the street, Ziva's eyes landed on a single building. She fought the urge to let out a sigh of relief and quickly answered Tony, "I ran back to the building that we were watching Rick from. I needed to grab a few things."

"Oh." Tony grew silent and Ziva was just about to hang up when the Mossad officer spoke. "I called Gibbs, he will be here any moment."

Ziva sighed, but nodded. "Okay, I will be back soon."

"Shalo--" Ziva snapped her phone shut before Tony could finish saying goodbye. Although she knew it was rude and petty, the NCIS special agent didn't care. It was Tony's fault that she was feeling this way, so why should she be good to him?

Ziva quickly pushed herself up from the ground and walked out of the alley before entering the building where she and Tony were still supposed to be. _Gibbs will not be happy that we left._

Ziva mentally scolded herself. Only she could manage to anger Gibbs and Tony, nearly get her partner and herself killed _and_ have a suspect stabbed as a result of her actions in only a matter of minutes.

The NCIS special agent winced as she remembered her father's cruel words from years ago. _The only thing you're good for is failing._

Ziva shook the words off as she rushed into the apartment, grabbing all of her gear and quietly closing the door behind her. She exited the building and ran back to the crime scene in an effort to beat Gibbs there. Unfortunately for her, however, Gibbs was already in the alley.

The man's blue eyes were burning with intensity as he dealt Ziva a hard slap on the head. "I _ordered_ you not to take any action!"

Ziva bit back a reply and simply nodded while staring at her feet.

Gibbs continued to glare at Ziva for a few seconds before stalking off towards his car. "DiNozzo and David! Get back to headquarters and write your reports." Gibbs started the ignition and shouted, "McGee you're with me in the hospital questioning Rick."

McGee glanced uneasily at Tony and Ziva before following Gibbs. As soon as the car left the parking lot, Ziva turned to Tony."I am driving."

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but Ziva silenced him with an angry glare. "This is not up for debate, _Officer DiNozzo. _Now give me the keys."

Tony glared at Ziva as he handed her the keys. The two partners got into the car without a word and Ziva sped away. Neither one spoke the whole ride back to NCIS. Ziva was trying her best to ignore both Tony and the pain his rejection brought by focusing on driving while Tony stared out the window, lost in thought.

His mind kept replaying the argument he'd had with Ziva earlier. Tony knew that this was going to be a blotch in what had been a good partnership. Still, he couldn't help but wonder where it all went wrong. It was obvious that Ziva was angry at him, but Tony couldn't understand what he did. Although Ziva had claimed that it was his disobeying her order to stay and watch as she followed Rick that angered her, Tony knew that wasn't true.

Even after Ziva had known that he'd followed Rick and everything was over, she was fine. In fact, Ziva had actually been _concerned _about him after the incident in the alley, so why had she so suddenly become angry at him?

After repeating their argument several times in his head, Tony still didn't understand. He let out a sigh in frustration and resorted to staring out the window.

Ziva pulled the car to a stop in the NCIS parking lot and quickly got out. She didn't bother to wait for Tony, but grabbed her gear and started towards the shook his head as he watched her walk away. She was almost at the elevators when an idea popped into Tony's head.

The Mossad officer quickly grabbed his gear and ran towards the elevator, which was just about to leave. Tony managed to slide through the closing elevator doors, much to Ziva's dismay. She glared at Tony before leaning over and selecting the floor they needed.

The elevator came to life and began moving upwards. Tony waited a few seconds before leaning over and flipping the emergency stop switch. He turned to look at Ziva with a serious expression on his face. He wasn't sure what was bothering her, but one thing was certain--He was going to find out.

* * *

**So.... good? bad? Let me know with a review! :P Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. I want to get an update in soon but can't promise anything. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: This wasn't a quick update, but it didn't take especially long either (and it's one of the longer chapters in this story.) Anyways, thanks for all of your reviews. I really appreciate them and they always make me smile! So, thanks again and enjoy!

* * *

Ziva glared at Tony before reaching for the elevator's emergency stop switch. Tony, however, grabbed her hand, causing Ziva to glare at him again as she practically ripped her hand from his grip.

"Start the elevator." She hissed and Tony shook his head defiantly.

"No."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Start the elevator."

"Not until you explain why you are angry."

Ziva shut her eyes and shook her head slowly, "You still don't understand?" When Tony shook his head, she let out a sigh of both relief and frustration. "Then you never will."

Before Tony could say anything, Ziva started the elevator and slipped out of the opening doors. The Mossad officer, who was now alone in the elevator, shook his head and sighed. He didn't understand why she wouldn't simply tell him what was wrong. If she did, maybe he'd be able to fix the problem.

Tony stepped out of the elevator and sat down at his desk, not taking his eyes off of Ziva the entire time. His beautiful partner, however, refused to meet his eyes. She simply ignored his questioning gaze and stared at her computer, doing her best to reassure herself that she could get over Tony. Still, deep down, she wasn't sure she could.

_No. _Ziva shook her head, she could. And no matter how hard it would be to do so, she _would_.

Tony's actions made it quite clear that he didn't return Ziva's feelings. He had, without even realizing it, broken her heart. Still, Ziva realized that she was lucky things turned out the way they did. Despite learning that Tony didn't care for her, Ziva knew that things could've bee _much _worse if Tony had understood what she meant when she admitted to 'acting from her heart.'

Although she really didn't feel very fortunate at the moment, Ziva knew she was. The problem, she realized, is that she now had to let these feelings go. It was obvious that Tony didn't care for her the way she cared for him, and she wouldn't be able to bare it if he ever found out how she truly felt. She was lucky this time, but next time she let her tongue slip she might not be so fortunate.

This all led to one conclusion. She had to get over Tony. Ziva felt her resolve strengthen as she sat up straighter in her chair. She could do this… and she _would_.

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Ziva looked up and her dark brown eyes met concerned green ones. Tony had been staring at her for the last five minutes, watching the variety of emotions flicker across her face.

Despite how much she hated to admit it, Ziva felt most of her resolve to forget about Tony slip away the moment her eyes met his. They were so full of concern and what Ziva would like to deem as care.

At this thought, she straightened her back. She'd already confirmed that Tony didn't care for her like that, yet she kept holding on to the hope that he might.

Standing up, Ziva pushed her chair back. She had to get out of there before she lost all of her resolve.

"I'm going to see Abby."

McGee nodded to show that he'd heard Ziva, but the senior field agent didn't even bother to watch for Tony's reaction. She simply grabbed her cell phone and ran towards the elevator, completely unaware of the Mossad officer's eyes following her every move.

As the elevator doors closed behind her, Ziva pressed the button that would take her down to Abby's lab. A few seconds later, the cold metal doors slid open and Ziva stepped out. She was barely in Abby's lab when the lovable goth engulfed her friend in a tight hug.

Ziva's eyes widened as she gasped for breath. She opened her mouth to let Abby know she was squeezing too hard but no noise came out. After a few more seconds, during which Ziva's face grew increasingly red, Abby let go and took a step back.

"I heard what happened with Rick and I was SO worried! Why didn't you visit me sooner? I was going insane with worry down here!"

Ziva sighed, "I'm sorry Abby, Gibbs ordered us to write our reports."

Abby flashed Ziva a disapproving look, "You could've called."

Ziva opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. "You're right Abby, I'm sorry."

Abby's mood brightened considerably as she gave her friend another hug and smiled, "I forgive you. Now what'd you come down for?"

Ziva looked around the lab and sighed. "A break."

"From what?" The goth asked sincerely before a knowing look crossed her face. A sly grin made its way on her lips as her eyes gleamed mischievously, "Or should I say _who_?"

Ziva rolled her eyes, but didn't deny it. This wasn't the first time she'd come downstairs to talk with Abby about Tony. Although the special agent preferred to keep these kinds of things to herself, Tony often frustrated her to the point where she needed to escape and talk to a friend.

"He's so annoying!" She started off and Abby bit back a knowing smile. Ziva noticed and rolled her eyes, "What is it Abby?"

"Why don't you tell him how you feel?" The goth questioned lightly, causing her friend's eyes grew wide. Although Ziva had often complained to Abby about Tony, she'd never explained her feelings for the man.

"You want me to tell him that I think he's frustrating, annoying and incredibly stupid?" Ziva pretended to be confused at the question but Abby shook her head. _Oh no you don't…_

"Don't bother lying to me Ziva, I've known you for too long for you to get anything past me." When Ziva refused to give in and continued to pretend as if she didn't understand what Abby was talking about the goth sighed. "You have to tell Tony that you have feelings for him."

Ziva's eyes grew wide in shock. She blinked multiple times before finally regaining her composure. She thought about denying it but knew that it was no use. Instead she stared at her feet to hide her red cheeks and questioned in a whisper "Is it that obvious?"

"Eeek!" Ziva fought the urge to cover her ears when her friend squealed with excitement. The lovable goth engulfed her in a hug while jumping up and down, "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

Ziva looked over her shoulder uncomfortably, afraid that someone might hear their conversation. "Abby quiet down, I don't want everybody else knowing about this." That thought brought another. Ziva's eyes widened as she questioned, "Wait a minute. How did _you_ know? Does anybody else know? I—"

"Don't worry Ziva," Abby cut her friend off with a smile, "No one knows but me and I only know 'cause I'm your best friend and I know everything about you."

Ziva couldn't help but smile back at the lovable goth. "Thank you Abby."

"No problemo." Abby grinned before taking Ziva's hand and leading her towards two chairs in the corner of her lab. Once they were sitting, Abby grinned. "Tell me everything."

"I'm not sure..."Abby flashed Ziva a disapproving look and the NCIS agent sighed. "I'm afraid that there's nothing to tell."

"What do you mean?" Abby questioned. She shook her head slowly, "Of course there's something to tell. It's you and Tony. You guys are the best couple-to-be I know."

Ziva refused to meet her friend's eyes as she admitted, "Except for the fact that we're not a couple-to-be." At Abby's confused look, Ziva continued. "We will never be together Abby."

"How could you say that? You two are perfect for each other!"

"Tony doesn't think so." Ziva muttered bitterly under her breath, but Abby caught it.

"What do you mean? Of course Tony thinks so." The forensic scientist insisted but Ziva shook her head sadly.

"No he doesn't Abby. He has made it very clear that he has no feelings for me whatsoever."

"Ziva that's not tru--"

"Abby." Ziva cut her friend off, "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but I already know how he feels. And... although I was less than happy about it, Tony doesn't care for me like that, So I've made up my mind to get over him."

"But Ziva he do--"

Ziva sighed at her friends persistence. "Look Abby. I've got to get back upstairs before Gibbs gets angry."

"Ziva wait!" Abby pleaded, but Ziva was already out the door.

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony sighed as he finished his report. While pushing the paper to the front of his desk, Tony put down his pen and stood up to stretch.  
A quick look around the bullpen told him that Gibbs and McGee still hadn't returned from the hospital and that Ziva was still downstairs with Abby. Since he had nothing better to do, the Mossad officer decided to join her.  
He waited semi-patiently for the elevator to arrive, and stepped inside when it did. After a few seconds of silence, the metal box came to a stop and Tony stepped out. He was just outside Abby's lab when he heard his partner talking to the forensic scientist. Thinking nothing of it, Tony continued, but stopped dead in his tracks when something Abby said caught his attention.

"Why don't you tell him how you feel?"

Tony's fists automatically clenched as he realized what they were talking about. He fought the urge to storm into the lab and end the conversation before Abby convinced Ziva to tell whoever she liked that she liked him.

A small flame of anger ignited within Tony as he realized that the forensic scientist he'd come to think of as a friend was telling Ziva to go out with someone else. Someone that wasn't Tony.

"You want me to tell him that I think he's frustrating, annoying and incredibly stupid?"

Tonysmirked at Ziva's words, feeling slightly comforted by them and the fact that she _didn't _like anyone else.

"Don't bother lying to me Ziva, I've known you for too long for you to get anything past me."

Tony shook his head. He was an intelligent man, but this was confusing even him. _Who are they takling about and does she like him or not?!_

"You have to tell Tony that you have feelings for him."

The Mossad officer's heart nearly stopped beating at Abby's words. For a moment, he couldn't believe that he'd heard her right. _They're talking about me?_

Tony suddenly found his hopes on the ending of this conversation change. He no longer wanted Ziva to deny her feelings, but admit them so that he could know for sure how she felt.

Seconds seemed like hours as Tony waited to hear Ziva's response, and when it finally came, he couldn't stop the large smile from crossing his face.

"Is it that obvious?"

Tony's smile grew wider as Abby shrieked and, knowing Abby, hugged Ziva. He fought the urge to run into the room and tell Ziva that he'd heard everything, knowing that doing so probably wouldn't get back on her good side.

Instead, he smiled happily to himself and got back on the elevator. The last thing he saw before the cold metal doors closed behind him was Abby leading Ziva over to a couple chairs and demanding a full explanation.

* * *

**So... Tony knows. :D Yet, he didn't hear the last part when Ziva says that she's going to get over him. Things could get interesting. :p Mwuahaha! Lol, anyways... I will try to update soon but no promises. Please review and I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Finally! A quick update! Lol, I know it's been a while since I gave an update only one day after the last one, but hopefully that will change now. I was able to get this one done today and it's a decent length. It also has A LOT happening. I won't say anything else though, except thank you so much for your reviews and enjoy!  


* * *

Tony had just returned to his desk when Gibbs walked out of the elevator, coffee in hand. McGee followed the older man to the bullpen, where they both sat at their respective desks.

As soon as Gibbs was sitting down, however, he turned his eyes to Tony. "Report?"

"Complete." Tony confirmed, and when Gibbs' eyes wandered to Ziva's empty desk, he added, "Visiting Abby."

"Call her up." Gibbs barked before storming out of the bullpen and bounding up the stairs to the director's office. Tony bit back a sigh as he picked up his desk phone.

Gibbs was in no better mood now than he was after first arriving in the alley where the 'incident' with Rick had occurred. Although Tony fully believed that his actions were justified and that he was right to take Ziva's place in following Rick, there was no denying the fact that he'd messed up.

Everything would've been fine if only he hadn't followed Rick into the alley. As a trained officer of Mossad, Tony should've known that he was being led into a trap. After all, Ziva had seen it. Still, Tony knew why he'd followed Rick into that alley.

Mossad training was a double-edged sword that was a great advantage, but could also prove to be a handicap. In Mossad, one _never_ let a suspect get away. It was fine to follow them back to the people they were working with, but while following them you never gave up and never let them out of your sight. It was for this reason that Tony followed Rick into the alley.

Although in the back of his mind, he knew it was a trick, Tony's training took over and left him with no option _but_ to follow the criminal into the alley.

"Hello?" An irritated voice questioned and Tony realized that he'd been too lost in his thoughts to realize that Ziva had answered her phone.

"Gibbs wants you back upstairs." He finally spoke and Tony could practically _hear_ Ziva roll her eyes.

"Fine. I will be there in a second." Ziva hung up before her partner could respond, but somehow, Tony didn't become irritated as he would've only an hour ago. He knew that Ziva was mad at him, he even admitted that it was rightfully so, but after learning that she cared for him too, Tony didn't think it was possible for him to become angry with her at the moment.

Not even a minute later, the elevator doors opened and Ziva stepped out. She rushed over to her desk and pulled out the report she'd finished. Tony flashed her a smile but Ziva simply rolled her eyes. _Why is he acting as if nothing happened? He has to realize that I am mad at him... I guess he does, but simply doesn't care._

The last thought threatened to bring tears to Ziva's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. _I've never cried over a man before, why him? Why Tony? _

Ziva shook her head. Sure, there was something special about him since the moment she first met him, but still... Why did he affect her so much more than any other man? Why did he affect her at all?

Ziva closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. It didn't matter anymore. She was serious when she told Abby that she was going to get over Tony. As far as Ziva was concerned, she would do whatever it took to let go of her feelings for the man.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked as he entered the bullpen. The youngest agent looked at his boss expectantly and Gibbs pointed to the elevator. "Go home."

"Boss?"

"Before I change my mind, Ma-Gee." Tim scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion but quickly gathered his gear and left. "DiNozzo! David!"

The two partners looked up in unison, expecting to be dismissed early as well.

"Finish McGee's paperwork!" Gibbs ordered before storming out of the bullpen. Ziva muttered a few unpleasant words under her breath before standing up and grabbing half of McGee's unfinished paperwork.

She didn't utter a word to Tony before sitting back down at her desk. Tony sighed before standing up and grabbing his half of the paperwork from McGee's desk. When sitting back down at his own, Tony allowed himself a quick glance at Ziva.

The NCIS agent was sitting in her chair, working diligently on her work. Her hair was down, the way Tony liked it best, and she had to keep pushing it back, only to have it fall into her face a few seconds later. Her dark eyes swept over the page before her, and her lips were pressed together tightly, a sure sign that she was upset.

Whether her anger was directed at Tony, or Gibbs for making her stay late, the Mossad officer didn't know. What he did know, however, was that he was hoping to lighten her mood considerably the moment she was able to leave work.

~~~NCIS~~~

One hour later, Ziva stood up with a sigh. Without speaking a word to Tony, she grabbed her gear and began walking towards the elevator.

The Mossad officer, who'd finished his paperwork a long time ago but pretended to work while Ziva finished hers, also gathered his belongings and followed her.

Ziva did not seem too pleased by this, but didn't say anything as the elevator doors closed behind them. She pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor, then took a step back, standing in the corner opposite that of Tony. The Mossad officer noticed this and frowned. Instead of saying anything, however, he decided it was time.

Tony leaned over and flipped the emergency stop switch, effectively bringing the elevator to a halt. The Mossad officer then turned to face his American partner, who was now refusing to meet his eyes. "Ziv--"

"Start the elevator, _Officer DiNozzo_."

Tony closed his eyes to keep himself from losing his patience. "I want to talk to you."

"That's too bad because I'm not interested in talking to you." Ziva shot back as she glared daggers at the man before her. Tony, however, refused to let her get the best of him. Ziva went to start the elevator, but Tony stepped in front of her, blocking the way.

The beautiful agent's face darkened as she glared at her partner but Tony didn't care. He needed to say this. "Will you just listen to me?"

When Ziva refused to even act as if she'd heard, Tony sighed. _What can I do to make her listen to me?_ After a few seconds, the answer came to him. _Apologize. _

Tony knew well enough that it didn't matter whether you were in America, Israel or anywhere else, an apology was often the first step to reconciling your problems. Despite the fact that Gibbs saw it as a weakness, Tony didn't want Ziva to be mad at him when he confessed his feelings, so he had no other choice.

"I am sorry." The Mossad officer began, and Ziva's head snapped towards him in surprise. He finally had her attention. "You were right. It was stupid of me to follow Rick into the alley. It was an obvious trap and you never would've fallen for it."

Ziva's swept over Tony scrutinizingly as she tried to figure out his angle. "I was wrong to yell at you and blame you," Tony continued, "The incident was my fault. I am sorry."

Ziva's eyebrows met in confusion, but Tony's expectant stare told her that she _had _to say something. After letting out a sigh, Ziva rolled her eyes.

"I forgive you." She muttered, but her tone was not very happy. Although she was glad that Tony was taking the responsibility, part of her wished that he hadn't.

If she wanted to get over Tony, she needed an excuse to distance herself from him. She needed a reason to be angry, or upset with him.

Looking up at her partner, Ziva noticed that he was smiling and, much to her dismay, she couldn't help but return it.

"We are better now, yes?" Tony questioned and Ziva nodded reluctantly.

"Yes, we're good."

"Good." Tony flashed Ziva another smile that made his partner's heart skip a beat. "Because I wanted to say something else too." He paused a moment before continuing, "Because I am not done talking yet."

Ziva raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. The Mossad officer studied his partner quickly, analyzing her mood so that he knew how to progress. She was leaning forward slightly and her hands were hanging freely by her sides, silently confirming that she _had_ forgiven him and was no longer angry.

"Tony?" Ziva questioned when he stared at her for several seconds without saying anything. Although she didn't know it, he was suddenly at a loss for words and was searching for the proper thing to say.

Believing that Tony was simply teasing her, Ziva went around him and started the elevator. When the metal box stopped on the ground floor, Tony still hadn't moved. His mind was spinning and he felt completely incapable of what he was about to do next. However, when the elevator doors opened and Ziva was about to leave, Tony knew he was out of time. It was now or never.

Thankfully, Ziva hadn't left yet, and was staring up at him in concern.

"Ton--" She began, but was cut off when his mouth covered hers in a slow, yet meaningful kiss. Ziva didn't hesitate to respond and quickly deepened the kiss.

Tony placed one hand on the small of her back and allowed the other to tangle with her hair. Ziva wrapped both arms around his neck and leaned up towards him. Her heart was racing, the whole kiss seemed surreal.

It was only when Tony moaned softly into her mouth that Ziva realized what she was doing. Anger surged through her as she quickly moved her arms from around Tony's neck and placed them on his chest, pushing him away from herself in one fluid motion.

Tony looked at her for a moment, shocked. Finally, he began to speak, "Zi--" He was cut off when Ziva slapped him hard across the face before storming out of the elevator.

* * *

**:D So.... love it? hate it? I think the last one is more likely for the ending, but... you know how much I love twists and keeping you guys on your toes. :p**

**Anyways... I hope you liked this chapter. I was glad that I was _finally _able to give you guys a fast update, which I will do my best (no promises!) to do again. :) **

**So... I give you a quick update, you give me reviews? Sound fair? Lol, jk. But seriously, I really appreciate reviews and they make me write more, faster and better. (They give me so much inspiration and make me feel great, so why not just take 2 seconds to leave a review. Anonymous is allowed so you don't even have to sign in!) **

**Anyways, hope you liked it (even the ending!) and please review!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: I'll tell you right now that this chapter is short, but again, it is very important to the story (and I don't feel too bad about it being short because I updated quickly again.) Thank you guys SO much for your reviews on the last chapter, it was the most I've had on this story for a while, and I was starting to get a little discouraged. So thank you, and enjoy!

* * *

Ziva refused to let the tears that were burning at the back of her eyes fall as she marched angrily towards her car. _David women don't cry._

As soon as she was sitting in the drivers' seat, Ziva put her foot on the gas pedal and sped out of the parking lot. She completely ignored the man who was running after her car, trying flag her over so that they could talk. Right now, Ziva was _not_ in a talking mood.

She couldn't believe this. Just as she determined to get over Tony, the man kissed her. Only a few hours ago, Ziva would've been ecstatic right now, instead she was fuming.

A few tears managed to escape and slid down her cheek, but Ziva brushed them away angrily. She hated being this weak. She hated herself for crying. But mostly, she hated herself for allowing Tony to get the best of her.

Why couldn't he have wanted her yesterday, when she wanted him too? Why did he have to kiss her today, the day that she had sworn to herself to get over him? Why, Ziva wondered, did he want her at all?

Ziva nearly pulled her car over as she realized what she was actually angry about. Tony _didn't_ want her. At least not in the way she wanted him and _that_ infuriated her.

She'd truly believed that she and Tony had a special bond. A bond of friendship, and maybe even something more. She truly believed that they would do well as a couple and be good for each other. _She'd truly come to care for him._

That's why it hurt so much when he kissed her. She wanted him so badly, yet it was clear that he only wanted her for one reason. To Tony, emotions had no place in their 'relationship,' but to Ziva, it was all about the emotions.

She'd come to care for Tony more than she'd ever cared for any other man, but he was acting like every other man did and simply wanted her for her body. They cared nothing about what she felt, as long as she was theirs.

To be fair, Ziva had often wanted it this way. Her father had married several times and she didn't want to be like him. In order to evade being like her father, she'd begun avoiding commitment, even up to the point where she'd begun to fear it.

Now, when she finally let her protective walls down and let someone in, it burned her. She finally allowed herself to care for someone, yet they proved to be no different from all the other men in her life who really couldn't care less about her.

With every second that passed, Ziva built her protective walls up higher and higher so that she'd never be hurt again. It was only when her walls could go no higher that Ziva made a decision that would change her life forever. She turned her car around and headed to Tony's apartment.

Although a small voice in the back of her head was yelling at Ziva to turn back around and go home, she ignored it. She'd already made her decision.

_Nothing_ could penetrate the protective walls she'd put around herself, so there was nothing to fear any longer. If Tony wanted a relationship with her, that was fine. She secretly wanted one too. Everything would be fine. Neither one of them was in this relationship for commitment; they were simply in it because it felt so right.

There was no harm in two co-workers dating, Ziva decided, even though Gibbs might disagree. There was nothing wrong with her and Tony having a relationship… as long as they didn't get carried away.

Tony didn't care for her and that, Ziva determined, was okay. She no longer cared for him either. This was simply going to be a casual relationship that emotions had no place in. That way, no one would get hurt.

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony sighed in defeat as Ziva's car sped out of the NCIS parking lot. He'd tried, in vain, to catch her, but it didn't matter how fit he was, no one would be able to outrun a car traveling at that speed.

The Mossad officer pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to determine what went wrong. He already knew from the conversation in Abby's lab that Ziva cared for him, so why did she get angry when he kissed her?

Tony shook his head, it made no sense. He got in his car and began driving home, all the while wondering about the reason behind Ziva's actions.

_American women, _he thought while shaking his head, _they make no sense._

Ziva had kissed him back and seemed very into it at first, so it was not a matter of whether or not she cared for him. Tony wondered why, if she had feelings for him, would she not want to be with him?

As he was weaving in and out of traffic, causing at least a dozen people to honk their horns at him, an idea came to Tony. Suddenly, everything made sense.

Ziva had gotten so upset because she believed that Tony was using her. The Mossad officer didn't need to do a dossier on his partner to realize that she'd had issues with men in her life, and beautiful women like her were often wanted by men for one reason, _their body._

Tony shook his head, Ziva must have believed that he had the same motive as other men did when he kissed her. She didn't know that he truly cared for her and wanted **her**, not her body.

Chuckling softly to himself, Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. Why hadn't he realized this sooner? He should have said something to Ziva in the elevator, letting her know that he actually cared about her, before he kissed her. No wonder why she got the wrong idea.

Tony's mood lightened considerably as he felt assured of Ziva's reasons for becoming upset. He was in such a better mood because now that he knew the problem, the only thing needed was a solution and everything would be better.

A smile crossed Tony's face as he thought over the only solution that made sense. He'd let Ziva know how much she meant to him, so that she knew he wasn't using her.

Tony parked in front of his apartment building and got out of his car feeling confident. He reached back into the car to get his belongings when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Tony instinctively reached for his gun as he turned around, ready to pull it out and shoot the person behind him if necessary.

"Ziva?" Tony questioned in confusion, he let his hand drop from his side and shifted his weight uncomfortably as he wondered why he was suddenly so nervous. "What are you doing her?"

Instead of answering him, Ziva took a step closer and lifted her hand to his face, where she had slapped him only a few minutes earlier. She cupped his cheek and smiled before standing on her toes and pulling Tony into a kiss.

The Mossad officer was stunned to say the least, but eagerly returned the kiss. He wasn't sure what had happened to change Ziva's mind, but whatever it was, he was thankful.

When they pulled apart, Ziva was looking at Tony expectantly and the Mossad officer smiled happily before pulling Ziva into another kiss. He wanted to tell Ziva how much she meant to him, but knew that the words would somehow sound fake and insincere. So instead, Tony decided to do the next thing that came to mind.

If he couldn't _tell_ Ziva that he cared for her, he'd show her in every way he knew how.

* * *

**Happy now? Tiva is together. :) Although I must say that I was quite surprised by the amount of readers who said that they LOVED the fact that Ziva slapped Tony. Lol, I though u guys would've been like 'agh! why'd she do that?' but many liked it. Anyways... trouble could be coming. Tony cares for Ziva but Ziva is scared of falling for Tony (I think I have that part of the role reversal down, lol) This could lead to heartache... couldn't it? :p**

**Anyways... I do want to ask your opinions on one thing, and that's whether or not I should skip two months in the story so that Tony and Ziva can be together for a while and I don't have to bother with the 'like turns to love' thing (it will already have happened but they haven't said it) or do I need to write that part of the story too? I'm asking because I don't want the story to drag on with not much happening. Anyways, you tell me (please). I'd appreciate it. :)**

**Please review, I hope you liked it and thanks for reading!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: After three quick updates in a row, I'm feeling a little bit better about myself. :p Anyways... this chapter isn't incredibly long but it's not incredibly short either. Lol, I want to say thank you for all of your reviews (again, I absolutely LOVED them) and a special thankyou to Tiva. McAbby. Kari. Jibbs. forever who caught a mistake of mine in the beginning of last chapter (it's fixed now) when I accidently said "DiNozzo women don't cry' instead of David. (I was thinking of how Tony's always saying DiNozzo men don't cry.) So thanks for the correction. :)

I decided to skip ahead a little over two months, as everyone who commented on the issue in a review said that this would be the better thing to do (thanks for helping me decide!). I think that this chapter turned out well, but you can be the judge of that so... enjoy!

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Tony smiled as he watched the movie credits roll down Ziva's big-screen TV. He looked down at his girlfriend of two and a half months and his smile widened.

Sometime during the movie, Ziva had cuddled closer to him so that her head was leaning on his chest, right over the heart that she'd stolen a long time ago.

The past two and a half months had been the best time of Tony's life. Ever since Ziva had met him in his parking lot and finished the kiss that he'd started in the elevator, the two had been dating happily. They'd decided to keep it a secret from everyone at NCIS, and so far they had succeeded in not letting anyone else know about their relationship.

It wasn't always easy at work, but they managed. Tony had to admit however, that lately it had been getting even harder. He'd often find himself lost in thought and staring at Ziva in wonder, only to be brought back to reality by a head-slap and disapproving look from Gibbs.

Though Tony could never be perfectly sure why it was getting harder and harder to hide their relationship, he had a pretty good idea. It seemed as if every day he cared for Ziva even more. It had even gotten to the point where he wasn't sure if he cared whether Gibbs knew or not. Despite the fact that they were breaking one of his precious rules, Tony was sure that Gibbs wouldn't stop them from dating if they simply explained that they would keep it out of work.

Still, Ziva believed that it was for the best that their boss didn't know, so Tony obliged. As hard as it was, he kept his mouth shut for her.

Ziva shifted slightly in her sleep and buried her face deeper into Tony's chest. The Mossad officer couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the woman in his arms.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him to wonder how he got so lucky as to be able to call her 'his'. Tony knew that he didn't deserve Ziva at all and he often wondered why she was wasting her time with him, the cold assassin, while she could have any man she wanted. Still, Tony knew that this was only partially true. Although Ziva could have any man she wanted, Tony was no longer the cold-hearted assassin.

The past two and a half months had changed Tony. _Ziva_ had changed Tony. She'd taught him to open up and shown him that it was okay to let your feelings show. He'd never cared for anyone as much as he cared for her. He loved her more than life itself.

If Tony had to choose, he'd give his life up in a heartbeat if it meant saving hers. He only prayed that it would never come to that. He knew that they shared a dangerous job, but Tony had already sworn to protect Ziva no matter what the cost. The Mossad officer would be lost without her.

Tony wasn't sure when it had happened, but somewhere between the movie nights Ziva insisted they have and their other casual dates, Tony had fallen in love.

The problem was that every time he tried to tell her, words evaded him. His mind would go blank, he'd stutter and Ziva would look at him as if he'd lost his mind. Sometimes Tony wondered if he had. He knew, however, that it was _Ziva_ who made him act so oddly. Although Tony wouldn't say that he'd lost his mind, there was no denying that he lost his head whenever Ziva was around.

Still, when he was unable to tell Ziva how much she meant to him, he resorted to the vow he'd made when they first began dating and decided to _show _her that she was special to him.

The part that worried Tony however, was that whenever he was about to tell Ziva that he loved her, she seemed to sense it and what Tony could only describe as a frightened look would enter her eyes before she found some way out of the situation.

"Tony." Ziva mumbled in her sleep as she shifted again, Tony smiled and pulled her closer towards himself before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

Ziva's eyes fluttered open, revealing the deep brown eyes that Tony loved so much.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" He teased, knowing that she'd fallen asleep not ten minutes into it. Still, he wouldn't say too much. The case that they had solved earlier that day had taken a toll on everyone, leaving even Gibbs exhausted.

Ziva rolled her eyes playfully and Tony smirked, "After all, movies are your thing, yes?"

"You don't like watching movies with me?" Ziva teased and Tony smirked.

"I would not say I watch them _with_ you, considering you always seem to fall asleep…" Ziva shook her head in false annoyance and Tony grinned, "But do not worry, I do not mind. I kind of like having you fall asleep in my arms."

Tony's green eyes bored into deep brown ones that looked suddenly uncomfortable at Tony's display of affection.

Despite Tony's attempts to show Ziva that he truly cared for her, she was still hesitant about letting the walls she'd built up fall down again. The last time she'd tried, she was hurt. Now things were going well again and although Ziva couldn't deny that she loved spending time with Tony, she wasn't ready to take things to the next level.

Although she'd never admit it, Ziva was actually scared. She'd been hurt so many times and didn't want to feel that way again. Even though Tony was making it more and more clear that he truly cared for her, Ziva wasn't sure if she was ready to return those feelings.

She'd buried all of her feelings for Tony when she believed that he was only using her for a 'good time' and although Tony had proved that this wasn't the case, Ziva was hesitant to let those feelings resurface.

Now, as she stared into those beautiful green eyes of his, a new kind of fear ignited within her. The care that she saw in Tony's eyes was like nothing she'd ever witnessed before, and Ziva was terrified. There was nothing she would love more than to return the feelings Tony so openly displayed, but the heartbreak she'd felt two and a half months ago had done nothing to ease Ziva's fears about commitment.

Ziva opened her mouth to say something, _anything,_ that would take her mind off the emotions she saw in Tony's eyes, but was interrupted by the shrill ringing of her cell phone.

Ziva bit back a sigh of relief as she stood up and grabbed her phone. "David."

"_Hey Ziva!" _Abby's familiar voice filled the phone, causing Ziva to wonder if she'd ever been so thankful for a phone call.

"Hi Abby."

"_I know that last case was hard on everyone, so I thought that you,Tony, McGee and I could go out. You know, relax and have some fun so that you can forget everything that's happened in the last 48 hours."_

"Yeah!" Ziva immediately jumped at the opportunity, thankful that she wouldn't be alone with Tony at the moment. "That sounds great Abby, do you want me to call Tony and let him know, you tell McGee?"

"_Sure Ziva, thanks." _

"No problem Abby. At the usual spot?"

"_Always." _Abby answered before hanging up.

Ziva turned to Tony and tried to hide her relief that they wouldn't have a chance to talk about the moment they'd just shared. "That was Abby, we're going to meet her and McGee for some drinks at the usual place."

Tony nodded, he grabbed his car keys and headed out the door. "I will meet you there. We should both take separate cars so they do not wonder why we were already together."

~~~NCIS~~~

"More drinks over here!" Tony called out to the bartender in a drunken voice. In reality, he wasn't half as drunk as he was leading his now-giggling friends to believe.

Despite the fact that Tony was in America, Mossad's training still had a strong hold on him, and in Mossad you _never_ got drunk. While officers were often taught how to look and act genuinely drunk, everyone was taught how to hold their alcohol well.

Although this might not make sense to some people, it did to Mossad. You never got drunk because doing so made you vulnerable and in Mossad, vulnerability got you killed.

The bar tender laid down another glass in front of Tony, Abby, Ziva and McGee. He then poured them each a drink, knowing that he'd have to cut them off soon.

"So Tony, you see any hot chicks?" McGee called out in a drunken state, causing Tony to nearly smirk at how different the man was while drunk.

_Just one_. He thought while looking at Ziva, but dodged the question and flashed a false grin, "Dunno McGee, been too busy focusin' on the alcohol, here." He lifted up his glass and flashed another grin before emptying the glass.

"Is anybody sitting here?" A voice interrupted and Tony looked up to see a man in his mid thirties smiling at Ziva as he pulled out the empty chair next to her.

"They are now." Ziva grinned and Tony felt his anger rise. He didn't care whether Ziva was drunk or not, the other man wasn't and his intentions with her were pretty clear.

Although they'd already agreed that it was okay to flirt with others when anyone else on the team was around, Tony couldn't help but feel jealous when Ziva did just that.

He knew that flirting with others was important if they wanted others to believe that there was nothing between them, but part of Tony was screaming at him at him to stand up and punch the man before he got any closer to Ziva.

"You are very beautiful," The stranger commented while he placed one hand on the small of Ziva's back.

Much to Tony's chagrin, Ziva smiled and leaned in closer to the man, "And you are very handsome."

Unable to take it anymore, Tony stood up. "I am going to the washroom."

With that, he left to seek refuge from the scene. As soon as he was in the bathroom however, Tony walked over to the sink and looked at the stone-faced expression in the mirror.

It was slowly killing him every time he saw Ziva flirt with another man. It was already hard enough keeping his feelings secret at work without having an overwhelming wave of jealousy wash over him every time she smiled flirtatiously at someone else. _I am not sure how much longer I can last before I finally snap and let everyone know that Ziva and I are dating.

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_**Ohhhh.... Tony's losing it. :)**

**So, Tony loves Ziva, but Ziva's afraid of love. (sound familiar?) Lol.  
Anyways, I'll let you know that next chapter? Gibbs finds out. :P I'll leave you with that. :D **

**Thanks for reading and let me know how I did with a review!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Okay... Sorry for the wait. I would've loved to have this up a little sooner, but just didn't have any time to write. Anyways, it wasn't too long of a wait, and I made up for it with one of the longest chapters I've written for this story. (Sorry, don't get your hopes up too much. I write short chapters, but at least this one is a decent length. Plus, it's pretty heavy with content.) :P

So as promised in the last chapter, this chapter is focused on Gibbs finding out that Tony and Ziva are breaking his precious Rule 12. I totally agree with what lot56 said in a review that Gibbs finding out about Tony and Ziva is always a high point in Tiva stories. :P

Speaking of reviews, I want to thank everyone who reviewed on the last chapter. (Reviews make me happy :D) Also, a special thank-you to dizzy - in - the - izzy for pointing out that Tony was using way too many contractions. I always appreciate you guys pointing things like that out so that I can correct it. :D So thanks again, and enjoy!

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Gibbs rolled his eyes at the sight that met him when he entered the bullpen after returning from a coffee run. McGee's desk was empty, meaning that there was a good chance he was visiting Abby in her lab. Tony was sitting at his desk with a frightening smile on his face as he sharpened one of his many knives and Ziva had both feet on her desk while she slept soundly in her chair.

_Do I need to watch them 24/7 in order to keep them working? _He thought with annoyance, but in truth, Gibbs wasn't sure he blamed them. The past week had been a very slow one, and due to a lack of new cases, the team was left to finish overdue paperwork and look over cold cases.

Walking by Ziva's desk, he woke her up with a head-slap and had to fight the amused smirk from crossing his face when his senior agent jumped to her feet in the ready position. "On your six, boss!"

Ziva looked around the bullpen and blinked as she tried to wake up properly and make sense of her surroundings. Tony was chuckling softly and making no attempt to hide it, but Gibbs silenced him with a stony glare.

"You have ten minutes to get your lunch and be back here. I want your overdue paperwork done by the end of the day." When Tony and Ziva stared at him dumbly Gibbs rolled his eyes and pointed towards the elevator, "Ten minutes!"

Tony and Ziva immediately grabbed their coats and ran towards the elevator, not willing to waste any of the precious time they had off from working on the seemingly never-ending pile of paperwork.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind the two agents, Gibbs let out an uncharacteristic sigh and sat down at his desk.

Although he'd never wish for anyone to be murdered purely for his sanity, he hated it when work was so slow. As if days of working purely on paperwork wasn't bad enough, having to constantly check up on his immature agents to ensure that they were actually working was enough to drive a lesser man crazy.

Still, he was happy to have at least ten minutes of quiet with all of his agents out of the bullpen. Sitting back in his chair, Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment before taking a swig of his coffee and sitting up straight again. _Time to get back to work._

A few minutes later, Gibbs glanced at his watch and frowned. Tony and Ziva were supposed to be back by now. The team leader pulled out his phone and began dialling Ziva's phone number when he realized that his coffee was empty.

Letting out a small grunt of dissatisfaction, he threw the coffee cup away and stood up. He put his phone back in his pocket and began heading towards the elevator. He'd go to the café and tell Tony and Ziva to get back to headquarters himself, then he could get another coffee at the same... not to mention the break he'd be getting from working on the cold cases he hated so much.

When the elevator stopped on the ground floor, Gibbs stepped out and walked briskly outside. He didn't stop walking until he was standing in front of the café where he always bought his coffee. Gibbs pushed open the glass door and spotted Tony and Ziva sitting together in a booth at the back.

The team leader's eyes narrowed when he spotted Tony's arm draped casually, yet possessively around Ziva's shoulder. What he saw next, however, was enough to make his blood boil.

Ziva threw her head back and laughed at something Tony had said. After her laughter subsided, she said something that made Tony lean in close to her with a flirtatious smile. Their faces were less than an inch apart and Tony whispered something under his breath before closing the gap between him and his partner so that his lips covered hers.

Gibbs' blue eyes grew steely as he glared at his two agents. The team leader's face grew increasingly red with anger when neither agent seemed to want to end the kiss.

Unable to take it any longer, Gibbs clenched his fists and stormed over to the booth where they were sitting. He didn't think twice about dealing both agents a hard slap on the back of the head. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony smiled at the cashier while he handed her the money that paid for his and Ziva's lunch. He grabbed their food and, completely forgetting about the ten-minute time limit Gibbs had given them, chose an empty booth in the back of the café where he and Ziva could eat.

Tony sat down and smiled when Ziva slid in next to him. He casually draped his arm around her shoulders and his smile grew wider as he realized how right this felt.

"What are you thinking about?" Ziva's voice brought him back to reality, but Tony shook his head.

"It is nothing." Ziva looked at her boyfriend questioningly, but decided to let it go.

"Mmmmm, it smells good."

Tony smiled and nodded as he grabbed his chicken soup. The couple ate in silence until Tony caught sight of a clock hanging above the café door. He swore under his breath, causing Ziva to look at him in concern.

"What's wrong?" The care in her voice surprised Tony, but also brought a small smile to his face.

Whenever he tried to show any sign of true feelings for her, Ziva pulled back and he'd been getting discouraged. He'd begun to believe that she didn't return his feelings, but the care in her eyes and voice right now were encouraging. They gave Tony the hope that _maybe_ she did feel the same, that maybe she loved him too.

"What's wrong?" Ziva repeated, her concern growing.

Tony blinked as her voice brought him back to reality. Looking at his watch, he sighed. "We are late. Gibbs is going to blow his bottom."

Ziva looked at Tony in confusion for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. The Mossad officer didn't get what was so funny, but a smile crossed his face at the sound of Ziva's carefree laugh.

When Ziva's laughter finally subsided, she looked at Tony with a grin on her face.

"It's 'blow his top,' not bottom. If Gibbs blew his bottom..." She trailed off and Tony rolled his eyes as he finally understood.

He leaned in towards her so that their faces were less than an inch apart. The small smile on his face told Ziva that he knew he was causing her breathing to shallow and that he loved having that effect on her.

"I do not understand why you must always correct my English." Tony muttered playfully under his breath and Ziva smiled again.

Tony noticed the way her eyes sparkled and couldn't help but close the gap between them. He leaned in slowly until his lips were on hers in a slow, romantic kiss.

Just as he was about to pull back for air, Tony felt someone slap him on the back of his head. Ziva pulled back quickly and Tony found himself staring up into the angry blue eyes of his boss.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Gibbs demanded and Ziva looked at her partner with wide eyes. She opened and shut her mouth multiple times, but was unable to come up with any intelligent explanation as to what her boss had just seen.

"Get up." Gibbs growled through barely-controlled anger. Neither Tony nor Ziva dared to disobey him and the two agents stood up without a word.

"My office. Now." Gibbs ordered, his voice dangerously low. Tony and Ziva didn't even dare exchange a worried look as they quickly walked back to NCIS with Gibbs trailing closely behind them.

Once they arrived at headquarters, the three agents went directly towards the elevator. As soon as the cold metal doors closed behind them, Gibbs flipped the emergency switch, causing the metal box they were in to come to a stop.

Before Tony or Ziva could even blink, their boss whipped around to face them. His deep blue eyes were flashing with anger and his face grew increasingly red as he stepped threateningly towards them.

Tony instinctively stepped protectively in front of Ziva, causing Gibbs' eyes to narrow further. "You two better have a good explanation for this."

After a few seconds of unbearable silence, Ziva spoke the first thing that came to mind. "It's not what you think."

New anger flashed in Gibbs' eyes as he glared at his two best agents. "It's not what I _think?!!!_ So then I _didn't_ see two of my agents blatantly breaking Rule 12 in the middle of a populated café?!"

Tony and Ziva's silence was his only answer, but it was the only one he needed. "You two are _over. _Effective immediately."

Gibbs' tone left no room for argument and Ziva nodded obediently. Tony, however, stood his ground.

"No." Ziva's eyes widened and Gibbs' narrowed, but Tony refused to back down. "You have only found out about this now, meaning that it has not affected our work at all. If our relationship is not affecting our work, you have no right to end it."

Gibbs took an angry step towards Tony, his eyes blazing fiercely. "That's where you're wrong _DiNozzo. _I—"

The team leader was cut off when Ziva finally spoke. "Gibbs, don't worry. Tony and I are over. Could you just... give us a moment alone first?"

Gibbs glared at Ziva, but agreed. "Five minutes." He started the elevator. "You two have _five minutes _before you need to be back in the bullpen. If you're even _one second_ late, I'll have both of your asses thrown right to the unemployment line."

The elevator doors opened, and Gibbs left without another word. As soon as the doors were closed again, Ziva turned to face Tony.

"I'm sorry, but we have no choice other than to end it."

"No," Tony shook his head fiercely. Taking a deep breath, he tried to conceal how much this conversation was hurting him. "We do have a choice. Gibbs may not fire us for not following his _made up_ rules. If--"

"Tony." Ziva silenced her partner with a small shake of the head. "You know it is no use to argue our point."

"But Gibbs would never fire you."

Ziva closed her eyes, silently wondering why Tony was making this so hard. They had what she assumed to be an unspoken agreement that their relationship was casual; surely Tony could find someone else. "That's where you're wrong Tony; Gibbs is serious about Rule 12. You saw how angry he was. Even I've never seen him so upset before."

"But--"

"No 'buts' Tony. If you won't agree to end this, I'll have to break up with you." Ziva almost turned away at the look in Tony's eyes. He appeared... devastated. Defeated.

"Ziva..." Tony began, but his voice trailed off as words evaded him. It was only when he saw that Ziva was about to start the elevator again that he finally got the courage to finish his sentence. "Ziva do not leave. I... I love you."

The elevator grew quiet at Tony's confession. Ziva stared at her partner with wide eyes, and the Mossad officer stared intently into her face as he tried to gauge her reaction. When Ziva finally snapped out of her stupor, she ran both hands through her hair.

Trying not to show the overwhelming fear that was building up inside her, Ziva swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I... I'm so sorry." Ziva hated herself for letting her voice shake, but Tony didn't even seem to notice as he shrank back. Ziva closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. She'd never meant to hurt him this way. This was why she wanted emotions kept out of their relationship. She wasn't ready for love.

"I'm so sorry." Ziva repeated softly before starting the elevator again. As soon as the cold metal box started moving, however, Tony grabbed Ziva by the shoulders and gently turned her around to face him. The unhidden terror in her eyes sliced through him, but Tony knew what he had to do.

"Ziva," He began in a voice just above a whisper, "I am dying."

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**I'm pretty sure you didn't see that one coming. :p **

**Lol, I love twists, especially twists that (most) people don't see coming so you can surprise them. :D **

**I wanted to have this story a little different from all the other Tiva stories that have Gibbs find out, he gets mad, then gets over it all in the same chapter because I can actually see Gibbs getting _this_ angry and Tony and Ziva breaking up because of his Rule 12. :P**

**Anyways... the twist at the end is kind of cruel to leave you hanging there, even though I'm pretty sure I've got a different idea in mind than what you guys think... lol. Anyways, I'll try to update soon, but you know... reviews make me update faster. :P (And they make me happy, and a happy author who is writing about a character we all love who just admitted that he's dying is a good thing. You want a happy author then. :p) Lol, anyways, thanks for reading.**

**Hope you enjoyed and please review!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Sorry for making you wait so long after a cliffhanger like that, but the last few days were hectic so I updated as soon as I could. :D

Thank you all so much for your reviews! I love reading them so much (and I know I've said this before, but it's true, they really do inspire me!) :D Anyways... Thanks again for the reviews and enjoy!

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_"I... I'm so sorry." Ziva hated herself for letting her voice shake, but Tony didn't even seem to notice as he shrank back. Ziva closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. She'd never meant to hurt him this way. This was why she wanted emotions kept out of their relationship. She wasn't ready for love. _

_"I'm so sorry." Ziva repeated softly before starting the elevator again. As soon as the cold metal box started moving, however, Tony grabbed Ziva by the shoulders and gently turned her around to face him. The unhidden terror in her eyes sliced through him, but Tony knew what he had to do. _

_"Ziva," He began in a voice just above a whisper, "I am dying."

* * *

_

Ziva stared at her partner with unbelieving eyes. She knew what she'd heard, but her mind seemed incapable of believing him.

Everything seemed to start spinning and Ziva felt her legs grow weak as a wave of shock swept over her. Unable to support her any longer, Ziva's legs gave out. She began falling towards the ground but didn't even think to put out her hands and catch herself.

Seeing that Ziva was about to faint, Tony quickly stepped forward and caught his partner before she touched the ground.

"Ziva." Tony's words snapped the NCIS agent out of the spell she was in, but she didn't bother to stand up straight or move away from his touch. Instead, she looked up at him in a child-like reverie.

Slowly, as if she were afraid of hurting him, Ziva lifted her hand and gently caressed the side of his face. "Tony..." She began softly, but trailed off when smiled gently down at her. Standing up straight, he made sure she was able to support herself before taking a step back.

"Ziva," He began, then licked his lower lip before continuing. "I am fine."

"No you're not." Ziva blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall, "You're dying." Ziva's voice broke, but she didn't care. She was still trying to wrap her mind around what Tony had just told her. She wasn't even thinking about how she'd let her protective walls in and was showing Tony how much he meant to her.

To be honest, her walls naturally fell down when Tony was around. A few minutes ago, this revelation would've scared Ziva more than words could ever describe, but now it held no meaning. Right now only one thing mattered. _Tony._

Ziva couldn't believe that Tony was dying. It all felt so unreal that she found herself hoping to wake up at any moment and realize it was all a dream--that Tony was going to be fine.

"Ziva," Tony tried again, this time stepping closer to his partner and stroking her cheek in the same way she'd caressed his only a minute earlier. "I am fine. I am _not _dying."

Ziva ran a hand through her hair and looked around the elevator in confusion, looking for anything that would make sense of the situation. "But you said--"

"I lied." Tony quickly cut Ziva off, and at the stunned expression on her face quickly explained. "When you thought I was dying, you nearly fainted. You were close to tears..."

Ziva continued to stare at Tony blankly so the Mossad officer continued, "I am sorry for lying to you, but I knew that you cared for me. Even if you did not realize it, you care. Your worry over my health simply proves this. You cannot deny it. When I told you I was dying, you looked terrified... even more so than when I told you I loved you."

Tony took a deep breath before continuing, "I know that you are afraid of love, but I would never hurt you. And as afraid of love as you are," Tony paused for a moment as he met Ziva's gaze, "You are more afraid of losing me."

By the time Tony was finished with his explanation, Ziva's eyes were closed, fighting off her emotions. When the Mossad officer took a deep breath, his partner opened her eyes, not bothering to fight back the fury in them any longer.

"How could you?!" She demanded.

Without even thinking about what she was doing, Ziva placed both hands on Tony's chest and shoved him as hard as she could. The Mossad officer was taken by surprise and stumbled backwards, finally falling to the ground when he hit the elevator wall. Ziva showed no regret of her actions however, and glared at him angrily.

"I wish I had never met you!" She spat, and Tony tried not to let it show how deep her words were cutting into him. The elevator doors opened and Ziva shot him a disgusted look. "We are _over_. And just so you know, I wouldn't care whether you were dying or not."

Ziva ignored the pained look on Tony's face as she stormed out of the elevator. A small crowd had gathered, but Ziva shot them death glares, causing the curious agents to quickly disperse.

Tony had now stood up and walked calmly out of the elevator, all emotions ridden from his face as he sat down in his desk. Ziva did the same, but didn't bother to hide the anger that was so clearly expressed in her flashing brown eyes and tight frown.

They were working for a good ten minutes before Gibbs marched back into the bullpen. One look at his two best agents caused the team leader to sigh. Ziva kept throwing death glares Tony's way and the Mossad officer refused to even look at his partner.

Gibbs shook his head. There was no denying it, their partnership would never be the same. Even though he was sure that the couple would eventually learn to work well together again, this would always be a dark spot in their relationship.

Still, Gibbs refused to get any more involved in the situation. He wasn't very pleased with the two agents before him and as far as he was concerned, they caused the problem, so it would be up to them to fix it.

_I've taught them both about Rule 12 and they _deliberately_ disobeyed me!_

Gibbs was fuming as he sat down at his desk, fresh coffee in hand. Still, one glance at Tony and the team leader couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for the man.

Although it was inexcusable that the Mossad officer broke his rule, then refused to right his wrong and wouldn't break up with Ziva, Gibbs knew what it was like to be in his position. Although Tony's face was wiped clean of all emotions, Gibbs knew the empty, desperate, searching look in his eyes. It was the same way he looked when Jenny ended their relationship.

The look that the Mossad officer thought was unreadable told Gibbs everything he needed to know. It told him that Tony and Ziva were over, but that it was Ziva's doing and not Tony's. It also told Gibbs, however, that Ziva wasn't simply a fling for the Mossad officer. Tony truly cared for her and, as much as it angered Gibbs to admit it, maybe even loved her.

Again, a small wave of guilt washed over Gibbs as he looked at his liaison officer. Gibbs himself had experienced the pain the other man was in and would never wish it on anyone.

Although he knew it wasn't fair, Gibbs felt some of his anger shift off of Tony and focus on Ziva. The team leader understood Tony's reasoning and could even sympathize with the man, but Ziva had no excuse.

She'd been more than willing to end her relationship with Tony, proving to Gibbs that it meant nothing to her and, unlike Tony, she didn't have a good reason to be breaking one of his most infamous rules. If he was perfectly honest with himself, however, Gibbs knew that the reason he was truly angry at Ziva was because she reminded him of Jenny and the way she broke his heart all those years ago.

Standing up, Gibbs threw his now-empty coffee cup in the garbage before grabbing his coat and shrugging it on. A quick glance at his watch told the team leader that it was five o'clock.

"McGee!" Gibbs barked and the junior agent looked up at him, "Go home."

McGee glanced at the pile of unfinished paperwork on his desk and opened his mouth to speak before Gibbs rolled his eyes, "Before I change my mind, McGee."

"Uh…" Tim opened and shut his mouth a few times before nodding and grabbing his coat, "Yes Boss, thank you."

Gibbs nodded and waited until McGee was out of the bullpen before grabbing his unfinished paperwork. The team leader took a quarter of the pile and slammed it on Tony's desk before dropping the rest on Ziva's.

"Don't leave until you're done!"

"But Bo—" Ziva opened her mouth to complain about how much more paperwork she'd been given than Tony, but shut it when she saw the angry look on Gibbs' face.

"Yes Boss." She muttered dejectedly before mumbling a few choice words under her breath.

Tony looked slightly confused about the fact that Gibbs had gone easy on him. One look at his boss told the Mossad officer that Gibbs was still _very_ angry with him, but not as much as he as with Ziva.

_Maybe because she has worked with him for longer? _Tony tried to reason, but knew that it still didn't make sense. Shrugging, he decided to simply be thankful for his luck and returned to his work.

Not ten minutes later, Tony looked up from his work and found himself staring at Ziva. Her wavy brown hair kept coming out of its' place from behind her ear and her cheeks were flushed slightly from fatigue.

Tony tried to return to his work but found himself uncharacteristically unfocused. He couldn't stop thinking about Ziva.

Judging from the look on her face when Tony told her that he was dying, the Mossad officer was sure that she loved him too, but the reaction she gave once he told her the truth was completely unexpected. Although Tony had been expecting her to be slightly irritated, he was counting on her relief to be much stronger.

There was no way that the Mossad officer could've predicted Ziva's last words to him before she stormed out of the elevator.

_I wouldn't care whether you were dying or not!_

Despite Tony's best efforts, he couldn't forget the look on Ziva's face as she spat the words at him, cutting right through him and damaging his heart in a way he'd never known possible. Not only did Ziva not love him, she didn't care for him at all. By her own admission, Ziva didn't even care whether or not he lived.

Tony let out a slow, shaking breath as he stared at his partner. Although he'd suffered through many things, nothing seemed to compare to this. Although medicine and bandages could heal physical wounds, nothing could fix the hole she left in his heart.

Sighing, Tony shook his head. Something still didn't make sense. If Ziva didn't care whether or not he died, why did she look so upset, so… _lost, _when he told her he was dying. As hard as Tony tried, he couldn't come up with more than one reason.

_She was afraid of losing another partner._

The Mossad officer closed his eyes slowly and held his head in his hands as the weight of reality came crashing down on him.

_Ziva was never scared of losing me _personally._ She was terrified of losing another partner after her last one died only three months ago!_

Shaking his head slowly, Tony let out a small sigh. He stood up and gathered his things, suddenly feeling like the jerk he now knew he was.

No wonder Ziva hated him. He was wrong to ever put her through that. Kate was not only her partner, but also her best friend and Tony pretending to be dying was like opening up an old wound.

Swallowing the small lump in his throat, Tony headed towards the elevator. Ziva didn't even bother to acknowledge the fact that he was leaving, but Tony didn't blame her. What he'd done was unforgiveable. Secretly, the Mossad officer feared that the woman he loved would never speak to him again.

* * *

**:D Okay, so the first bit with Tony _not_ dying is a little anti-climatic, but I could actually sort of see it happening and it was an excuse for a whole lotta tension in this chapter. :D I'll try to update as soon as I can, but remember, I love reviews! **

**All I will say is that you will all _definately_ want to read the next chapter. :p (I don't have it written yet, but I have the general idea of what is going to happen.) **

**Thanks for reading and please review!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: :D Sorry for the long wait, but I've been extremely busy and haven't had time to write. To make up for it, this is the longest chapter I've written yet. :)

A lot of the chapter is based on a song (I know, sorry for people who don't like songfics but this song fit everything that was going on in the story so perfectly that I had to put it in.) Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter and enjoy! :)

* * *

Ziva groaned as she looked at her alarm clock through tired eyes. _4:30. _

The NCIS agent looked away in disgust before proceeding to bury her face in the soft pillow lying at the head of her bed. It had been a long night and Ziva wished more than anything for it to be over. She hadn't been able to sleep at all, forcing her to simply toss and turn while trying to get more comfortable.

Still, Ziva knew that it wasn't a lack of comfort that was keeping her up. Rather, her inability to sleep could only be contributed to Tony.

No matter how hard she tried, Ziva couldn't stop thinking about her partner and ex-boyfriend. After what he'd pulled today, telling Ziva that he was dying, the NCIS agent couldn't understand why she wasn't able to simply leave a man like him behind. Yet, if she was honest with herself, Tony was on her thoughts now more than he ever had been before.

_"Ziva," Tony began in a voice just above a whisper, "I am dying."_

A shiver ran up and down Ziva's spine as she relived Tony's words for what must have been the hundredth time since he spoke them only hours ago. Sighing, Ziva sat up and, after kicking off her covers, got out of bed. Yawning as she made her way to the living room, the NCIS agent decided to watch some TV until she fell asleep on the couch--at least that was better than lying awake on her bed thinking about Tony.

Ziva turned on the TV and sat down, more than pleased to see that _A Few Good Men_ was on. Although it was almost over, Ziva knew most of the movie off by heart so she knew exactly what was going on. A few seconds later her favourite part of the movie came up, prompting Ziva to parrot the infamous lines along with Lt. Daniel Kaffee and Col. Jessup.

"I want the truth!  
You can't handle the truth!"

Ziva smiled softly to herself, but grew somber at her next thought. _Tony always hated it when I talked along with the movies._

Sighing, Ziva stood up and turned the TV off. She was just about to push herself up off the couch when she spotted Tony's empty beer bottle from last night, when Ziva insisted they watch _Batman Begins._ The bottle was a painful reminder of Tony's absence on the night they were supposed to watch the sequel, _The Dark Night,_ together.

Ziva closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, wondering why she was having such a hard time forgetting him. She'd made sure to keep their relationship casual, yet Tony was much harder than anyone else to let go.

_"Ziva, I am dying."_

Tony's words came back to hit an unsuspecting Ziva full force, causing her to fall back onto the couch, breathless.

Tony had scared Ziva more than she liked to admit when he said those words, fear that so quickly turned into full-blown rage when she learned the truth. Now, relaxing in her own home, was the first time that Ziva felt relieved about the situation. At work she had felt nothing but righteous anger upon knowing that Tony had lied to her. Now, she allowed herself to take comfort in the fact that Tony was going to be okay.

_"I am sorry for lying to you, but I knew that you cared for me. Even if you did not realize it, you care. Your worry over my health simply proves this."_

Ziva shook her head slowly and began to pace in front of her couch. As much as she hated to admit it, Tony was right. She did care for him and she was worried about him. Still, that worry quickly disappeared when she found out that Tony had lied to her.

_"When I told you I was dying, you looked terrified... even more so than when I told you I loved you."_

That was the line that angered Ziva the most and if she was truthful with herself, the NCIS agent would realize that was angry with _herself,_ not Tony.

Ziva had been absolutely furious over the fact that she'd allowed herself to care so much for her parter. She was furious that, despite all that she'd done to keep him out, Tony had found a way into her heart.

_"I know that you are afraid of love, but I would never hurt you. And as afraid of love as you are... you are more afraid of losing me."_

Ziva placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes as Tony's final argument hit her right where it hurt.

She'd never been so scared as when Tony told her he loved her. Ziva's heart had threatened to stop beating as she processed the Mossad officer's words. As soon as he said that however, Ziva knew she had to get out. Why? It was simple.

Ziva David was not ready for love. She probably never would be. That's why it terrified her to no end when Tony told her he was dying.

It terrified her because that was the moment when Ziva realized that, ready or not, she _had _fallen in love.

Sighing, Ziva stood up. None of this mattered anymore now that Tony and her were over. The worst part was, it was all her fault. She was the one to end their relationship, and she did it simply because she was scared. Scared that she'd end up like her father. Scared that Tony would get sick of her and leave. Scared that she'd end up with a broken heart.

Ziva almost chuckled at how stupid she sounded. _Scared that I'd end up with a broken heart? What do I have now?_

Ziva's heart broke the moment she ended things with Tony, so what had she achieved by all this? Was this really any better than telling Tony that she loved him too?

Though she wasn't sure why, Ziva allowed herself to wonder what things would be like if she'd told Tony the truth and, instead of wishing him dead, had kissed him? What if, instead of pushing him away, she held him close? What if she'd told him she loved him too?

Out of the corner of her eye, Ziva spotted a picture of her and Tony, taken while they were still dating. Both of them had genuine smiles on their faces and were staring into each other's eyes, oblivious to everything going on around them. While looking at that picture, Ziva's heart sank as she realized that she'd ended the best thing that ever happened to her.

The worst part was that, after how she'd acted today, Tony would never forgive her.

Closing her eyes as the weight of reality came crashing down on her, Ziva suddenly wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and shut the world out. Deciding to do just that, Ziva went back to bed and pulled the blankets on top of her.

She stuck one hand out and turned her radio on, hoping that listening to music would help distract her from the realization that Tony was lost to her forever.

Ziva smiled softly as she recognized the song that now filled the quiet room. Her smile disappeared however, when, a few lines into the song, she realized how well the lyrics fit her life.

**Too long too late  
Who was I to make you wait?**

Tony had given Ziva the world when he told her he loved her, so why did she throw it all away? Why did she tell him that she wasn't ready for love? Now Tony would never be able to forgive her. Regret washed over Ziva as she realized once again that she turned away the man she'd been waiting her whole life for.

**Just one chance  
Just one breath  
Just in case there's just one left**

Ziva closed her eyes. She'd ruined her chance, her _one_ chance with Tony, and now it was all over. A small shiver ran up and down her spine as she realized how perfectly the song fit her life.

Even the part about one breath in case there was only one left fit. Considering how dangerous their jobs were, no one could ever tell when their last breath would be.**  
**

** 'Cause you know, you know, you know  
I love you  
I've loved you all along **

Ziva sighed as she realized that Tony _didn't _know. He didn't know she loved him because she'd never told him.

_So why don't you tell him now?_

The thought caught Ziva off guard. Could she really tell him now that she'd made such a mess of things?

The picture of her and Tony, the happiest she'd ever seen, filled Ziva's mind as she realized that maybe telling Tony she loved him was the only way to clean up the mess she'd made.

**I miss you  
Been far away for far too long**

There was no denying it. She missed him. _Everything _about him, even the way he constantly messed up the English language, forcing her to correct him.

Ziva's eyes shot open and she quickly got out of bed as she realized what she needed to do. She and Tony had been separated long enough.

**I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
And you'll never go  
Stop breathing if  
I don't see you anymore**

If Ziva wanted to be with Tony again, she had to let him know that she cared. There was no backing down from this one. She needed Tony. She _loved_ Tony.

Ziva glanced at the clock and realized that, though it was early, Tony would be on his morning run right now. She quickly changed into the jogging clothes she never really needed to wear and left her apartment. Still, she continued to softly sing the song that she'd been listening too, somehow finding the courage she'd need to tell Tony how she felt from the song.

**On my knees, I'll ask**  
** Last chance for one last dance**

Ziva was way passed pride by now. Even if it meant begging on her knees, if it got Tony to forgive her, she would do it.

** 'Cause with you, I'd withstand**  
** All of Hell to hold your hand**

Ziva smirked. In their case the 'all of hell' would be Gibbs' wrath over having Rule 12 broken but, if Tony still loved her, they'd get through even that together.

Ziva kept jogging as she looked for Tony,feeling slightly unnerved when she felt a pair of eyes watching her.

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony adjusted the headphones of his ipod as he ran, bobbing his head to the song that was playing on the radio. He continued running with a small smile.

Although Tony hadn't felt like going for his morning jog today, something had told him that he should. Now Tony was glad that he had gone.

As hard as the past twenty-four hours had been, running allowed him to forget all of his problems, if only for a moment.

The small smile on his face disappeared however, when a few lines from the song caught Tony's attention and reminded him of all the problems going on in his life at the moment.**  
**

**I'd give it all**

**I'd give for us**

**Give anything, but I won't give up**

He would give anything to get Ziva back. Although he knew that he was wrong to lie about his health, especially after Ziva had _just_ lost her first partner, he hoped that Ziva realized that he'd only lied in an effort to save their relationship.

Tony let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head. Not that his plan did any good. It only served to make Ziva even angrier at him, so angry that she wished him dead.

A sharp pain stabbed at Tony's heart as he remembered Ziva's hateful words. _  
_

_I wouldn't care whether you were dying or not!_

He only wished that she understood that he never meant to hurt her. He loved her and would do anything for her. He'd give anything to be with her and had decided just that morning that, no matter how long it took, he wasn't going to give up on their relationship.

**'Cause you know, you know, you know**

**That I love you**  
** I loved you all along **

Tony nearly winced at the lyrics and the painful memories they brought.

Tears stung at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall as he remembered telling Ziva that he loved her... only to have her reject him.

** And I miss you **  
** Been far away for far too long**  
**I keep dreaming you'll be with me  
And you'd never go**

Although they'd only broken up a few hours ago, Tony missed Ziva more than he'd missed anyone in his entire life. As far as he was concerned, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Ziva. He wanted, and possibly even needed, to pull her close and never let go.

** Stop breathing if**  
** I don't see you anymore**

As independent as he is, Tony isn't sure that he could live without Ziva because, quite frankly, he lived _for_ Ziva.

** So far away **  
** So far away**  
** Far away for far too long**

** So far away **  
** So far away**  
** Far away for far too long**

What amazed Tony was that even though he and Ziva were living in the same city and worked at the same place, they couldn't be further apart emotionally. It felt like they were on opposite sides of a trench three times the size of the Grand Canyon. And, as hard as he tried, Tony couldn't close the gap between them.

** But you know, you know, you know **  
** I wanted **  
** I wanted you to stay  
**

Tony shook his head. He didn't understand why this was so difficult. He wanted nothing more than to be with Ziva but he felt as if everytime he tried to get closer to her, she would get scared and run away.

** 'Cause I needed**  
** I need to hear you say **  
** I love you **  
** I loved you all along **

The Mossad officer sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He was pretty sure that the pain in his heart could only begin to heal when he heard Ziva speak three small words.

_I love you._

** And I forgive you **  
** For being away for far too long **

Tony sighed, if Ziva simply asked him to forgive her, he'd willingly do just that. The problem was that, as much as it hurt him to admit it, she didn't love him and she didn't _want_ his forgiveness.

Tony closed his eyes to calm himself, but when he opened them again he nearly stopped in his tracks. About a hundred metres in front of him, someone was laying still on the ground. He couldn't see their face but even from this distance he could see that they were bleeding badly.

Tony pulled out a gun and his cellphone as he approached the limp body that was drenched in blood. He'd just finished calling 911 when he stopped by the body. Panic swept through him as he recognized the face. _Ziva?!_

** So keep breathing **  
** 'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore **

Tony dropped his phone and quickly knelt down next to Ziva, feeling for a pulse. Thankfully he found one, but it was weak. _Too weak.  
_  
"Come on Ziva," Tony spoke through the lump in his throat, "Come on Zee keep fighting the ambulance is on it's way."

** Believe it **  
** Hold on to me,and never let me go**  
** Keep breathing  
'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore**

Ziva couldn't speak, but Tony knew she was concious. At the sound of his voice, her eyes flew open and he could see the terror in them. She grabbed onto his arm with all the strength she had, as if she was scared he would leave her.

"I'm not going anywhere Ziva. I'm staying right here with you."

Ziva began to slip into unconciousness and her grip on Tony's arm weakened.

The Mossad officer looked at his partner with wide eyes, knowing that she could slip into a coma, he squeezed her hand.

"Ziva, stay with me. Stay awake, okay? Come on Zee, keep fighting."

Tony could tell from the look in his partner's eyes that she heard him and that she was listening.

** Believe it**

**Hold on to me never let me go**

**Keep breathing**  
** Hold on to me, never let me go**

As soon as he was sure that Ziva wasn't going to fall asleep, Tony looked down to check out her wounds. The sight that met his eyes wouldn't leave him soon.

Blood was everywhere, making it difficult to see where the wound was but Tony's heart nearly stopped beating when he spotted a large knife sticking out of her chest.

He stared at her with wide eyes, paralyzed with fear. He was vaguely aware of the near-by sirens and finally snapped out of his stupor when several paramedics began pushing him away from Ziva's stll body.

Tony's heart was racing as he dialed Gibbs' number and told him everything he knew. After that, there was nothing he could do except stare at the ambulance that was driving Ziva away.

** Keep breathing**

**

* * *

Cliffie! :D**

**I love them so much. :p So, will Ziva be okay? Who did this to her? What will Tony do once he finally processes everything? What's Gibbs going to do?**

**Lol. Don't worry, you'll be getting those answers soon. (In the next chapter or too.) :P I felt as if this story needed another twist and, when I heard this song and the 'keep breathing' line, it just came to me.**

**I will update as soon as I can. Please let me know how I did with a review. :) I enjoy them all!**

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: I want to start off by saying thanks once again to dizzy - in - the - izzy for pointing out (yet another!) grammar mistake. (I really need to get better at checking my chapters before I post them. :p) Anyways, thanks again!

Also thanks to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter. I really appreciate it (especially since I wasn't so sure about that chapter). It's always nice to hear back from you guys!

Anyways, this update wasn't really quick but it didn't take forever either. Plus, I think you will really like this one... maybe not the end though, lol. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Once Tony finally managed to process everything that was happening, he got in his car and arrived at the hospital in record time. Still, Tony wasn't surprised to find that the whole team was already in the waiting room. They were, after all, much closer to the hospital than he had been.

"How is she?" Tony questioned, not bothering to deal with pleasantries.

Abby, who had been crying, lifted her head at the sound of Tony's voice. She opened her mouth to answer his question, then shut it again and leaned into McGee's chest for comfort as she resumed her crying.

Tim was also clearly upset, but didn't miss a beat in wrapping his arms around Abby and gently placing his head on top of hers. Ducky looked at Tony with sad eyes and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Gibbs.

"We don't know anything yet Tony."

Looking at his boss, Tony wondered if they knew more than they were letting on. Gibbs was trying to stay strong for everyone else but, for the first time, Tony spotted fear in the older man's eyes. Although trying his best to keep up his confident appearance for everyone else, Tony knew that Gibbs was worried.

Apparently Tony wasn't the only one who noticed the difference in Gibbs. Jenny, who looked like she had seen a ghost, looked at her former partner in concern. She ran a hand through her short red curls and bit her bottom lip as if restraining herself from saying something. She wanted to reach out and place a comforting hand on his, but knew that such an action might not go over well with Gibbs. The man thought that apologizing was a sign of weakness, meaning that it wasn't likely that he'd appreciate being comforted so intimately in such a public place.

Tony closed his eyes slowly, wishing that he'd wake up to discover it had all been a bad dream. However, nothing had changed when he opened his eyes.

Sighing, the Mossad officer sat down on the opposite side of Gibbs. Despite the fact that Tony rarely needed comforting and that Gibbs himself was worried, sitting next to the older man somehow gave Tony some reassurance that everything would be okay.

Still, when a nurse walked into the waiting room and asked for the "Family of David," he stiffened. Gibbs sensed his liaison officer's discomfort and, to a degree, understood. He'd be the same way if it was Jenny who was hurt.

Shaking his head slightly to clear that thought away, Gibbs knew that he had to step up and take the lead on this one. He stood up and, not wanting to worry the others by seeming either too hesitant or eager, walked as calmly as he could over to the nurse.

"How is she?" He managed to ask in an even tone, displaying much more confidence than he felt. The nurse looked down at her clipboard and quickly told Gibbs everything she knew.

"Miss David has just come out of a successful surgery to safely remove the knife. Thankfully, the weapon missed any vital organs. Although painful, the injury is simply a flesh wound." The nurse looked up and gave Gibbs a small smile. "Miss David lost a lot of blood, but we believe that she'll be fine. She may not use her right arm for preferably two weeks, but no permanent damage will be done."

"And the pain?" Gibbs wasn't aware that Tony had come up behind him, and the man's voice startled him slightly but the team leader showed no sign of it.

The nurse noted the strain in Tony's voice and the concerned look in his eyes. "We'll give her painkillers to take care of that." She flashed him a reassuring smile that widened considerably at the slow, relieved one that crossed the Mossad officer's face.

"Can we see her?" He asked and the nurse bit her lower lip.

"I'm sorry but it's very important that Miss David rest at the moment." Both Tony and Gibbs were disappointed, but neither would press the issue if rest meant that Ziva would recover more quickly.

They thanked the nurse before returning to the others. The worry on their faces dissipated quickly when Gibbs and Tony told them what the nurse had said.

"So she'll be okay?" Abby spoke for the first time since Tony had arrived. Her mascara was running and her eyes were puffy, but she was smiling wider than Tony had even seen her smile before. At Gibbs' nod, the bubbly goth smiled even wider and threw her arms around McGee in her happiness.

Tim couldn't help but smile too. As often as Ziva teased and annoyed him, he really did care for her like a sister and wasn't sure what he'd ever do if she was killed or badly hurt.

"Can we see her?" Jenny spoke up and Gibbs frowned slightly as he spotted the tear stains on her cheeks.

Silently kicking himself for not attempting to comfort her more, Gibbs shook his head. "Not at the moment. The doctor said that there's no permanent damage and she'll be fine but she still needs rest."

Jen nodded slowly, a small smile making it's way onto her face as the good news truly began to register. They continued to talk for about five more minutes when a man in a clean white coat walked up to them.

"Excuse me, are you all here for Ziva David?" He questioned, prompting nods from them all. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Doctor Kevin Morgan, and I'll be treating Miss David while she's here."

The doctor paused for a moment before continuing, "I know that you were told that you were unable to see Miss David at the moment, due to her need for rest, but the patient is refusing to fall asleep until she can speak to all of you."

Gibbs fought back against the smirk that was threatening to make it's way onto his face at the doctor's words. _She always has been stubborn when she wants to be._

Still, Gibbs knew that there was more to it than that. Ziva knew how worried everyone would be about her and wanted them all to see for themselves that she truly would be okay. It made Gibbs proud to see that Ziva was so loyal to and protective of the ones she loved most, even while she herself was suffering.

"So if you'll follow me…" The doctor trailed off before leading them all to Ziva's room. He reached out to open the door, then paused and turned to look at the team.

"I'm letting you all see her so that Miss David will get her much-needed rest, but I'll tell you right now that this won't be a long visit. As…" The doctor paused as he searched for the right words, "_strong willed_ as Miss David is, she is rather weak right now and we don't want an overly-long visit to tire her out more as she'll need her strength to recuperate."

At nods from the team, the Kevin Morgan smiled. "Good. I'm sorry you can't stay longer but I'm afraid you only have five minutes. Now…" He opened the door and waited as everyone stepped inside before stepping back into the hallway. "I'll be back in five minutes to let you know you're time is up, but right now I'll give you some privacy."

Everyone murmured their thanks, except for Gibbs who simply nodded to show his appreciation.

As soon as Doctor Morgan left the room, closing the door behind him, everyone turned to look at Ziva. The room grew silent as the team took in Ziva's deathly pale complexion and the machines that she was hooked up to. Surprisingly, Abby was the first to step up.

"Ziva?" She questioned softly, causing Gibbs to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Ziva forced a smile, but Gibbs knew she was in a lot of pain.

"Ziver." He began, his voice soft and caring, yet firm and authoritative at the same time. Ziva looked at her boss expectantly, "Don't scare us like that again."

Ziva couldn't help but smile at Gibbs' words, which quickly eased the tension in the room. Abby stepped forward and gave Ziva an uncharacteristically gentle hug, whispering "I was so worried" before pulling back.

McGee looked rather shy as he stepped forward, but he also bent down and gave Ziva a hug. At a loss for words, he simply pulled back and nodded at her, silently conveying that he was glad she was okay. Jen and Ducky did pretty much the same as McGee, giving Ziva a hug and a reassuring nod or smile before turning to look at whoever was next. Finally, it came to Tony.

The room grew silent once again as the Mossad officer stepped forward. Unsure of what to do, seeing as Ziva had already made it clear that they had different perspectives on their relationship, Tony decided to take the safe path, following everyone else's leads and giving her a friendly hug. Before pulling back as everyone else, however, Tony leaned slightly forward and whispered for Ziva's ears alone, "I am sorry I did not protect you."

Ziva flashed Tony an odd look while he pulled back. She wanted to tell him that blaming himself was crazy, and that he had nothing to do with her injury, but somehow seemed incapable of doing so. She opened her mouth to say the words, but a different message came out. "I'm tired."

Doctor Morgan chose that moment to reappear, silently ordering everyone out of the room. Deciding not to press their luck, the team slowly filed out of the doorway. Tony was the last one to leave, and he stole one more look at Ziva before exiting the room.

Tony fought the urge to punch something as he walked down the hallway. The look on Ziva's face after he apologized for not protecting her, not having her back like partners always should, cut deeper into him than any blade ever could. Her expression had what he assumed to be anger towards him for not doing more to protect her, and an accusatory look for not being there when she needed him most.

She had looked like she wanted to say something other than "I'm tired" but refrained because everyone else was there. Tony sighed, knowing that she'd truly wanted to yell at and blame him.

_Rightfully so._ Tony thought, as his heart broke a little more with each step he took away from her room. Once again, he was leaving her when he should be staying at her side. Tony closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain that was slicing through him when he remembered the look on Ziva's face. She blamed him for her injuries, and the worst part is, he truly was at fault.

* * *

**So Tony blames himself and thinks that Ziva also blames him. :( **

**Next chapter we'll see more of Tony dealing with this issue and also we'll learn who stabbed Ziva and why. Sorry, that part wasn't exactly mastermind material but w/e with is a Tiva story, not a casefic where the twists should be in the case. Lol, anyways... review! Please? I love it when you do, plus I get really happy and update faster. (I know everyone says that but it's true!)**

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: I want to start off by saying that I am SO sorry. I did not mean to take this long to update but 1. I haven't had a lot of time to write (I know I've used that excuse a lot for this story but I really am very busy right now.) and 2. For the first time ever, I sat down and just could not bring myself to write for a few days. I don't know why, that's never happened before, but I am back now and my fingers are itching to write a whole bunch of new ideas for this story. Again, sorry for this wait and all the other waits you guys have had to suffer through in this story (I was always a quick updater in all my other stories so I don't know what's wrong with me in this one.)

Anyways, I also want to say very quickly that I did mean to have Gibbs call Ziva 'Ziver' because that is his nickname for her. (Like Abby is sometimes 'Abs' or Ducky might be 'Duck') :D Just thought I'd clear that up since there was some confusion.

Anyways thanks for reading and especially thanks to those who reviewed since they were the ones who gave me my inspiration back! :D Enjoy!

PS. Thank you DoomsdayGirl, horseninja, NCIS Wolf and dizzy - in - the - izzy for pointing out that I had accidentally posted the wrong chapter instead of this one. (Now fixed.)

* * *

Tony sighed as he looked up from his paperwork, glancing at Ziva's empty desk for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

Guilt assaulted him once again as he thought about her absence. It was his fault.

She would be perfectly fine, sitting completely unharmed in her desk right now if only he had done his job well and protected his partner. Sighing, Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose.

It had been three days ago that Ziva was stabbed, but Tony, despite the fact that he blamed himself for putting her there, couldn't bring himself to visit her. Being perfectly honest, however, Tony knew that his refusal to visit Ziva was born out of fear.

Ziva had made it clear on his first visit that she blamed him when she outright refused to even acknowledge his apology for not protecting her better as a partner should. The action had stung, even though Tony knew he deserved it. Now, however, he was afraid that she wouldn't even want to talk to him at all. He was afraid that she hated him. Still, he wouldn't blame her if she did.

In Tony's eyes, he had failed his job. No, it was worse than that. He failed _Ziva._

He wasn't even able to protect his partner, the woman he loved, from harm. Where was he when she needed him most? He was out enjoying his morning run while she became the victim of what had turned out to be a random mugging.

Catching the man who stabbed her and put her in the hospital did nothing to sooth Tony's anger. In fact, staring into the face of a totally unrepentant man had only fuelled the rage burning inside of the Mossad officer.

It both infuriated and humiliated Tony to know that he wasn't even capable of protecting Ziva from the scrawny man before him. More frightening however, was the next revelation that came from glaring at the thief.

He was unable to protect Ziva from even this small man because protection detail was not in his job description. He was a trained Mossad assassin who lived for the job. What kind of a man lived to kill?

The answer stared at him in the mirror every morning.

That was why, this morning, when he saw the emotionless face staring back at him while he brushed his teeth, Tony couldn't help but look away in disgust. He truly hated the man he had become.

Maybe, the Mossad officer couldn't help but wonder, that was why it was so easy to fall in love with Ziva. His partner was a good woman and whenever Tony was around her, he was a better man. It was for this reason that he had come to the important decision he had.

Apparently the 'better man' he thought he had become did not exist. He was the same emotionless killer he always was and always would be. That was why Tony had decided that, for once in his life, he would do something good.

His co-workers at NCIS truly were amazing, good-natured people who went to work everyday, helping make the world a better place. Unfortunately, none of these things applied to him. Ziva, Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Ducky, Jen and even Palmer all deserved better than him.

Tony was brought back to reality by the familiar 'ding' of the elevator. He looked up to see Gibbs walk out and decided that the sooner he did this, the better it was for all of them.

The Mossad officer's heart was pounding, and a small part of him wished that he didn't have to do this. Still, Tony knew he had no choice.

As soon as Gibbs sat down, Tony stood up. Doing his best to ignore the almost unbearable pain in his chest, the Mossad officer stopped in front of his boss' desk.

When Gibbs looked up, Tony took a deep breath, trying to gather the courage he so desperately needed, before coming right out with it. "I am giving my two weeks notice."

~~~NCIS~~~

Gibbs stepped the elevator with his ever-present coffee in hand. Walking to his desk, he sat down, very aware of the way Tony's eyes were following his every move.

When the Mossad officer stood up and walked over to his desk, Gibbs looked up, expecting to be asked for the rest of the day off or something similar. He was not prepared, however, for the next words that would leave his liaison officer's mouth.

"I am giving my two weeks notice."

Although Gibbs was not easily surprised, this revelation had him fighting to keep his cool. After a few seconds of silence, however, he gave in to his anger.

"Elevator." He demanded, standing up and forcing his chair backwards, "NOW!"

Tony complied and headed towards the metal box with Gibbs close on his heels. As soon as the elevator doors closed, allowing them some privacy, Gibbs turned the elevator off and faced Tony.

The older man didn't care that he was invading the Mossad officer's personal space as their faces were less than an inch apart. He simply focused his most intimidating stare on the man and waited for him to explain.

Tony refused to back down as he arched his shoulders in order to portray more confidence. Gibbs did the same before demanding an explanation.

Tony fought the urge to sigh, he knew that Gibbs would want a reason as to why he was quitting, but the Mossad officer really wasn't up to having this conversation with his soon-to-be former boss.

Taking a step back, he turned the elevator back on and faced the doors before questioning. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes." Gibbs growled before turning the elevator off once again. Tony thought about restarting it but, seeing the mood that the ex-marine was in, decided against it.

"I believe that my leaving will be beneficial to the team." Tony admitted, prompting a head-slap from a very red-faced Gibbs.

"You know damn well that that's not true DiNozzo." The older man began, not attempting to hide his anger in any way. "You leave now and this whole team will fall apart!"

"You are better off without me." Tony admitted softly and Gibbs decided to take a new approach.

Lowering his voice, he hoped to get Tony to open up in the more comfortable environment. "Why would you think that Tony?"

"Because," Tony began, dozens of emotions evident on his face before he covered them up and straightened his back . "Because I am not up to this job."

Anger burned inside the ex-marine as he stared at the newest addition to his team. "For the last year you've proved differently DiNozzo now I want a real explanation."

"That is a real explanation!" Tony shouted before gaining control of his emotions once again. "I was not even able to protect my partner from harm. Now she is lying in a hospital bed because of _me!"_

Gibbs' gaze softened when he realized what Tony was thinking. "This is not your fault DiNozzo."

When Tony flashed Gibbs a disbelieving look, the older man fought the urge to head-slap him. Instead, he placed a comforting, father-like hand on the younger man's shoulder. "No one blames you Tony."

The Mossad officer winced at his boss' words. He moved away from the other man's touch and sighed as he started the elevator. "Ziva does."

The doors opened and Tony stepped out before Gibbs could say anything. "Two weeks Gibbs. I will not be convinced to stay."

With that, Tony walked away, leaving Gibbs to stare at his fleeting figure, trying to figure out what he was going to do to make the Mossad officer stay.

Sighing, Gibbs started the elevator. It was no use trying to convince Tony while he was so wound up. The older man would give him some time to calm down and come to his senses before bringing the matter up again.

The elevator doors opened and Gibbs stepped out. As soon as he stepped foot in the bullpen, however, McGee's hopeful gaze met his.

The team leader shook his head slightly, wishing that things were different when Tim's face fell. Gibbs wanted to give the agent some assurance that everything would be okay, but found himself unsure how to do so.

"Is this because Ziva got hurt?"

Gibbs nodded slowly, affirming the younger man's beliefs. He was only slightly surprised when McGee swore.

"I knew he was blaming himself but it's not his fault." Tim looked at his boss, not really sure what he was hoping to find.

"I know it's not." Gibbs spoke in an unusually soft tone.

"Should I call Ziva, tell her that she needs to talk to him? Maybe that will convince him to stay."

"No McGee," Gibbs began, trying his best to hide the defeat in his voice. "The doctors said that if she wants to heal well she shouldn't be exposed to too much stress. She needs to relax and get enough rest."

Gibbs tried to ignore the lost look on Tim's face as the younger agent digested what this meant. _We have to convince him to stay on our own.

* * *

_**I decided to go with the simple explanation of a mugging for Ziva's injury (seeing as she was running alone very early in the morning of an empty park I thought that would fit) because I mainly want to focus on the tension in the story between the characters.**

**So... Tony is quitting. I told you that this chapter would deal with him struggling with the fact that he thinks it was his fault and that Ziva blames him. I also thought that it might make the plot a little more interesting if Ziva can't know about it until she's out of the hospital. (In two weeks, the same amount of time that Tony will be leaving in, hm....)**

**Lol, anyways, enough of what I think/want. Tell me what you guys thought in your reviews! (Pretty please with a quicker update to top it off?)**

**:D Thanks for reading and again, please review.  
**


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note:I had this chapter all typed up and ready last night, but my parents ordered me to bed before I could post it so... here it is. (One day later than it would've been but still not a bad updating time.)

I think that this is where the story (although it's already had a lot happen and is, sadly, coming to a close soon) will really take off. And you probably won't be expecting what is about to happen in the chapters to come. (This one is more of a filler to set things up, but w/e.) Enjoy!

* * *

Gibbs sighed in frustration as he placed the sanding tool he was using down on the workbench resting in his quiet basement. The ex-marine had come to work on his boat for the same reasons he usually did: to think... and to unwind after a long and difficult day.

It had been a week and a half since Tony gave his two weeks notice and, so far, the Mossad officer had made no move to take it back. Neither did Gibbs expect him too.

The persistent younger man had made his decision and, despite how often Gibbs tried to yell or head-slap some sense into the Mossad officer, Tony wouldn't listen. Every conversation they'd had during the past week and a half had ended in Tony stating that he had made up his mind and, whether Gibbs liked it or not, there was nothing he could do to change it.

Now the older agent was set out to prove his liaison officer wrong, but inside his gut was wrenching with the undeniable truth: in the end, it was Tony's decision and Tony's decision alone.

Aside from handcuffing the Mossad officer to his desk, which, considering the man's ability to pick any lock, would prove to be useless, there really seemed to be nothing that Gibbs could do to make him stay.

There was no reasoning with the younger man, and the all-too-frequent shouting matches they were having in Gibbs' 'office' lately were only serving to drive a wedge between the two men, making it even less likely for Tony to stay.

Now, with only two days left before Tony left for Tel Aviv, things were looking grim. Tony refused to even consider staying, and his decision to leave was wearing on all his NCIS team mates.

McGee would try to go around as if everything was fine, but every time Tony entered the room, Tim was unable to hide the various emotions that flashed across his face. Whenever this happened, the younger agent would look towards Gibbs, as if hoping that the ex-marine would somehow snap his fingers and make everything okay.

Abby was even worse. Although she insisted that there was no reason to worry because her 'silver haired fox' would find some way to make Tony stay, anyone could see the anxiety on her face grow with each passing day without the problem being resolved.

Jenny was also clearly affected by DiNozzo's decision to leave. Although she'd never admit that she didn't want Tony to go, Gibbs saw through the tough facade she was putting on. He tried to questioned her about this, wondering why, if she wanted Tony to stay so badly, didn't she try harder to make sure it happened.

Jethro had immediately regretted his harsh words, however, when pain flashed across Jenny's face. She had put on the emotionless mask that Tony so often wore, stating that while being Director certainly came with its privileges, it also came with responsibility, and that she could do nothing about Tony's situation.

The worst part was that, even though Jen never voiced her question, Gibbs knew that she was wondering why he, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, known for his unorthodox methods of inspiring loyalty in his agents, wasn't able to convince Tony to stay.

Truth be told, Gibbs was at his wits end. Everyone expected _him_ to perform some sort of miracle and get DiNozzo to stay. They didn't realize that he felt just as helpless as they did--that he had no better chance of convincing Tony than they did.

Gibbs not only had to deal with the fact that Tony was leaving, and there was nothing anyone could do about it, he also had to bare the burden of knowing that he had failed each and every person he cared about. Abby, Tim, Ziva, Jen, Ducky... in a way, Gibbs felt as if he was even failing Tony for not being able to show the younger man the light.

The ex-marine sighed and took a sip of his bourbon, the powerful liquid helping relieve some of his frustration.

Gibbs had only started drinking bourbon after Shannon and Kelly's deaths. The way it would allow him to distance himself from everything that was happening around him seemed to be the only way to cope with their murders.

Now Gibbs drank the strong alcohol when he needed to distance himself from the outside world and everything that was happening in it. Oddly enough, the bourbon usually served to help clear his head, the sudden riddance of his stress enabling him to think more clearly.

Tonight however, nothing seemed to be helping Gibbs solve his problems. Everyone at work was depending on him to convince Tony to stay, and the weight of this immense responsibility was crushing down on the team leader.

The worst part was that Ziva, the only one who actually had a _chance _of convincing Tony to stay, was still unaware of the problem. Three days after Tony gave his notice, Gibbs decided that it was time to tell her because, quite simply, they needed her help.

When the team leader got to the hospital however, the doctors refused to allow him to see Ziva. Apparently, her risk of infection had dramatically increased and she wasn't allowed any visitors until her release, now only two days away.

Although Gibbs knew that the past week, which Ziva was forced to spend all alone in an empty hospital room weren't very pleasant for his senior agent, Jethro doubted it was any better for her NCIS teammates. At least Ziva was still blissfully unaware of the bombshell Tony had dropped on her co-workers.

It was the timing that Gibbs was most frustrated with. It was only two days away from Ziva's discharge, but it was also only two days away from Tony's departure. Since Tony's flight was early in the morning and Ziva would be released at noon, there was no chance of the two being able to talk.

The problem was that Ziva was the only one who actually had a good chance of getting Tony to stay. Gibbs knew that, without her help, Tony _was _going to leave.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva sighed as her nurse, Kristen, scuttled out of her hospital room for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

The senior agent was frustrated. She had been stuck in the same hospital room for _fifteen days, _the last twelve of which she hadn't been allowed any visitors. Since the doctors feared that her wound might become infected, they insisted that she have as little traffic in and out of her room as possible.

Even with the doctors and nursing staff constantly checking up on her, the solitude was driving Ziva crazy. She wasn't used to being alone so often, and missed actually _interacting_ with people. Most of all, however, she missed her co-workers.

She missed trying to escape from autopsy as Ducky told of his never-ending stories. She missed Abby's bone-crushing hugs and Tim's enthusiastic rambles about what he could do with technology--Ziva even missed Gibbs' infamous headslaps.

More than anything, however, Ziva missed Tony. She missed everything about him: the way he constantly butchered the English language, how he rolled his eyes whenever she made a movie reference, even though she could often spot a small smile on his face as well. Mostly, she missed simply being with him.

A small frown crossed the NCIS agent's face as she thought further about her partner. Although she'd never admit it, the fact that Tony hadn't visited her after the first day she was put in the hospital really bothered her. Everyone else, while still allowed, had managed to visit at least once a day, but Tony was never with them.

In fact, whenever Ziva questioned her teammates about Tony or his absence, she got the feeling that they were holding something back. The problem was that even if she suspected that they were keeping something from her, it was easy enough for them to lie about it since there was no way she would find out if they were lying or not.

Kristen walked back into the hospital and read Ziva's chart as the NCIS agent sighed. She had two more days in this place, but even one hour seemed like torture.

Ziva shifted, trying to make herself more comfortable, but regretted it immediately when her injured arm suddenly felt as if it were on fire. She couldn't help but wince, something which didn't go unnoticed by Kristen.

The nurse sighed softly before hurrying out of the room only to re-enter a few moments later with a pill and a glass of water. Handing both to Ziva, she explained, "This should help with the pain."

Nodding, Ziva gratefully took the pill and swallowed it. Sitting back, she let another sigh escape.

She had no clue what was going on at NCIS, but she _did_ know that her co-workers were hiding something about Tony from her. Why wouldn't they tell her what was wrong?

Frustrated, Ziva ran her fingers through her hair. Still, she knew that, at the moment there was nothing she could do. Only wait for the next two days to pass... and pray that everything would be all right.

* * *

So... how did I do? Let me know with a review! :p

So this was a bit of a filler chapter but I think that it still dealt with some important stuff. The next chapter should be interesting as it is set two days later... aka when Tony leaves and Ziva is discharged from the hospital. Still, Tony leaves in the morning and Ziva gets out at noon so... what does this mean for the team and will Tony board that plane or not?

Lol, I will update as soon as I can but until then... review! :D


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: I want to start off by saying I am sorry (again!) for such a long wait. This is definitely the longest I've ever taken to update, but I tried to make up for it by having the chapter be a little longer _and _having a nicer ending than I had first planned. (You guys probably would've hated me for the first ending, lol.) So this ending is better... but not necessarily what you want either, lol. All I'll say is that this isn't the chapter where everything comes together nicely for a happy finish to the story. (Although the end is coming soon, either one or two more chapters.)

I want to thank everyone who has been reading this story faithfully (I know that's harder and less pleasurable to do when there's slow updates, but summertime is actually more busy than during the school year for me, lol.) So now that school is starting soon (sadly) I will be updating more often. Of course, this story is almost over, but I have a few other ones I want to do yet. (Penelopie Louise's idea that I promised her I'd do and a sequal to A Walk To Remember, plus a story focusing on Gibbs, who I don't tend to write about as much.) So you can look forward to all of those but for right now... enjoy this!

* * *

Tony was awake long before his alarm clock went off. Sleep had evaded the Mossad officer all night, leaving him to stare at the ceiling of his bedroom and think about the enormity of what he was about to do.

Getting out of bed, Tony sighed as he pulled on his running clothes before deciding that he really didn't have time for his regular jog. Although the Mossad officer had known that he was going to leave for two weeks, he had yet to pack his belongings.

Maybe it was the fact that packing seemed to make it final. Tony couldn't help but scoff at this thought. His decision to leave NCIS and return to Israel had been made final a long time ago and believing that he didn't have to leave if he didn't pack was ridiculous. Still, not everything had to make sense. At this thought, Tony let out a loud laugh.

Just one year ago, reason and practicality were everything to him. America had changed him. _No,_ the Mossad officer corrected himself, _Gibbs, Abby, McGee, Ziva... _they _changed me._

Shaking his head, Tony tried to distract himself from the thoughts he was having. The last thing he needed right now was to get cold feet about returning to Israel.

Sighing softly, Tony took out his suitcases and began packing. He'd already made an agreement with the landlord to leave all his furniture and appliances behind for the next renter. In return, he would get a few thousand dollars added to his bank account.

It only took Tony an hour to pack everything he needed. While he had saved a few photos of the team, he knew better than to look at them now. Only when he was on the plane and there was no turning back would the Mossad officer allow himself to look at the pictures.

Looking at his watch, Tony decided that it was time to go. Grabbing his luggage, he carried everything he owned out the door of his former apartment, leaving the keys to the door for the landlord to find on the kitchen counter.

Once outside, Tony hailed a taxi, having already sold the car he would no longer need, and placed his belongings inside. Despite knowing that it would be much faster if he drove, Tony had heard that American taxi drivers were often known for their speed in getting around town.

"Where to?" The cab driver, a man in his mid-forties with dark brown hair and a beer-belly, asked. "To the airport." Tony commanded, before glancing at his watch and changing his mind. "Actually I would like to make a quick stop first."

After telling the driver his new destination, Tony sat back and watched the world pass by through the window. A few minutes later, the Mossad officer ordered the taxi driver to stay where he was, seeing as this stop would not take long. The man nodded as Tony got out of the car and began walking towards the Bethesda hospital.

The elevator ride was quiet, but it didn't take long to reach the floor where Ziva was staying. As soon as the cold metal doors in front of him slid open, Tony stepped out of the elevator and began walking towards the receptionist's desk. "I would like to leave a message for Ziva David."

The receptionist looked up at the Mossad officer with raised eye brows. "She'll be released in three hours? You don't want to wait and talk to her in person?" When Tony shook his head, the blonde woman shrugged before smiling at him. "Okay then Mr..."

"DiNozzo."

"Right, Mr. DiNozzo. What message would you like to leave?"

"Just tell her that..." Tony searched for the right thing to say, and found that only three words seemed fitting. "Tell her I am sorry."

With that, the Mossad officer walked away, paying no attention to the questioning look on the receptionist's face as he did so.

Part of Tony hated leaving things like this, but the rest of him knew that giving Ziva a real good-bye would just be too painful. It was the same with everyone else on the team… just to a lesser degree.

As he walked out of the hospital and got back in his taxi, Tony couldn't help but wonder if he would ever forget Ziva. The possibility that he might not was concerning, yet the possibility that he _might_ was even worse.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva sighed and ran both hands through her hair in frustration as she glanced at the clock. _11:46._

A groan escaped her lips as the second hand ticked slowly onward. The doctor had promised to release her at noon, now fourteen minutes away. Being trapped in this room, with nothing to do but watch the clock and will it to move faster, however, Ziva couldn't help but wonder if twelve o'clock would ever come.

"Miss David?"

Ziva managed to tear her gaze away from the clock in order to show the blonde-haired nurse standing just outside the door that she had her full attention.

"A Mr. DiNozzo came by earlier today while you were sleeping. He left a message for you."

"Tony?" Ziva sat up quickly, "Is he here?"

"No..." The nurse sounded unsure of herself as she continued. "The message was very short, but I assume that you would know what he meant." Ziva nodded, silently telling the woman to continue. "All he said was 'I am sorry.'"  
When Ziva said nothing, the nurse simply sighed and decided to give her some time alone. As soon as the other woman was gone, however, Ziva began to gently massage her forehead.

_I'm sorry._

What was he sorry for? He hadn't done anything wrong, so what did he mean? The answer evaded Ziva and, when Abby walked in the room fifteen minutes later, she was no closer to solving the question. It was only when the lovable goth called out to her that Ziva realized she had arrived.

"Abby!" Both friends smiled widely at the other and embraced. After pulling apart and lapsing into a comfortable silence, Ziva spoke up, not bothering to hide her frustration. "Are you hiding something from me?"

"What?" Abby looked at her friend, clearly alarmed, but Ziva simply rolled her eyes. "I know that you and the team have not been allowed to visit me for the last two weeks but before that I got the feeling that you were all hiding something from me. Is it about Tony?"

"Why would you say that?" Abby asked a little too quickly, causing Ziva to believe that her assumption was correct. "I know because he left me a message that I don't understand _but_ maybe I would if you told me what you're hiding."

"What did the message say?" Ziva rolled her eyes but decided to play along. "All he said was 'I'm sorry.'"

When the forensic scientist inhaled sharply, her friend's eyes widened in fear that something was truly wrong. For once, words evaded the lovable goth, who started out with the first thing that came to her mind. "We need to talk."

~~~NCIS~~~

"Ziva slow down!" Abby cried out as she braced herself inside the car her friend was now driving. "You're going to get us killed!"

Ziva, however, simply ignored her friend's pleas and drove faster, her anger escalating with each passing second. "Why did you not tell me about this sooner?! Maybe I could have said or done something to convince him to stay!"

When she didn't receive an answer, the NCIS agent looked over to find Abby crying. Her face softened considerably as the soft-hearted woman before her began to apologize.

"I know Ziva, I'm sorry! But Gibbs said not to tell you because you were still sick and the doctors said not to cause you any stress since it would damage your recovery. We all thought that Tony would take back his resignation after a few days, but when he didn't and we couldn't wait to tell you any longer, we weren't allowed to talk to or visit you any more."

"I'm sorry too Abby." Ziva apologized, feeling badly for causing her friend to cry. "I am simply worried. I mean, how could he just leave like that?"

"He said he was doing it for us." Abby mumbled under her breath, but Ziva managed to hear it.

"What?!"

The goth's eyes widened as she realized that her friend had heard her, but she repeated it nonetheless. "He said he was doing it for us. That—that this was better for us in the longrun because everyone close to him always got hurt and he couldn't stand doing that to us and—"

"Do you have your cell phone?" Ziva cut Abby off. The forensic scientist hadn't been expecting the question and was clearly confused, but didn't bother to question.

"No."

Ziva swore softly under her breath and hit the steering wheel in frustration before speeding up once again. "We need to get back to the office as quickly as possible. I don't have my cell phone either but we can use my phone there. Maybe we'll get lucky and our call will get through."

Abby was doubtful, knowing that Tony's cell phone wouldn't get any reception while on the plane, but didn't bother to say anything when she saw the hopeful expression on Ziva's face. No matter how bad the odds, there was no way Abby could take away her friend's last hope of getting in touch with the man she loved.

As soon as they got to NCIS headquarters, both women ran out of the car and, deciding that it would be faster, took the stairs up to the bullpen. Ziva quickly picked up her phone and dialled the number she knew so well. A heartbroken expression crossed her face, however, when she simply received Tony's voicemail.

When the same thing happened three times, Ziva sat down in her chair, disbelief clearly evident on her face as her shoulders slumped in defeat. "He's gone."

The two words seemed heavy, and the NCIS agent choked on them, not wanting to believe that it was true. Yet it was.

Abby, too, looked depressed and was close to tears. The forensic scientist was about to engulf her friend in a hug when Ziva sat up quickly and began typing on her computer.

After holding back her curiosity for a few seconds, Abby finally gave in and questioned, "What are you doing?"

"Checking if Tony's flight has any layovers. If it does I may still be able to reach him before he gets back to Israel."

A few moments of thick tension passed before Ziva stood up, disbelief written all over her face.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Abby questioned, beginning to fear the worst. Her worries only increased when Ziva grabbed her coat and ran for the stairs.

Following after her friend, the forensic scientist cried out. "Is Tony okay? Where are you going?!"

Without pausing, Ziva smiled softly and called over her shoulder. "Tony's flight has been delayed… he's still in DC!"

* * *

**So are you happy with this ending? Lol, If you want Tony to leave I can always be mean and have his plane take off before Ziva gets there, lol. But I wouldn't do that... would I? *laughs evilly* Guess you'll just have to wait and find out. (But I may be nicer if I get a lot of reviews!) :D**

**I hoped you liked this chapter (again sorry for the wait!) but I hope to update soon (next day or two hopefully) and not keep you waiting too long. Please review!**

**PS. I am SO psyched that the NCIS premiere is now less than a month away! Plus, I doubt it could _ever _measure up to the original, but I'm going to give NCIS: Los Angelos a try too, it looks good from what I can see so far.  
**


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: FINALLY! A quick update! Lol, I figured that I've been updating slowly for this story (especially that last chapter) and so you all deserved a nice quick update. Well... here it is, lol. Plus, as a bonus, it's one of the longer chapters in this story with a LOT going on in it. I think you'll like it but I guess I'll have to wait and see in your reviews (hint, hint, lol). By the way, reviews for the last chapter were amazing! I loved them all, so a special thanks to those who left them!

Enjoy!

PS. Thanks to dizzy - in - the - izzy for pointing out a few mistakes.

Also, in case any one was confused about the timeline (I didn't mention time in this chapter, so it might be confusing.) But Ziva was released at noon and Tony's flight was supposed to be at 9, so he's been waiting for quite a while but his flight keeps on getting delayed. :D Hope that helps make it a little less confusing. :)

* * *

Car tires screeched as Ziva pulled the car she was driving to a stop in front of the DC airport. She was out of the car and running towards the building in three seconds flat, not wanting to waste any of the precious time she'd need to convince Tony to stay in America—and to stay with her.

Abby had reluctantly agreed to stay behind at NCIS and would come with Gibbs and McGee after she explained what was happening. Both women had agreed that, right now, it was best if Ziva talked to Tony _alone._

The NCIS agent ignored the airport announcer who was requesting that passengers of Flight 315, destination Los Vegas, boarded the plane. As long as it wasn't Tony's flight that was leaving, Ziva couldn't care less. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, searching hopefully to find the man she loved.

When she found no positive matches to Tony, Ziva straightened her shoulders and, determined not to give up hope, moved to a new area and started looking for Tony again.

_Nothing._ A small shiver made it's way up and down Ziva's spine as a small voice in the back of her head questioned if she'd ever find him in time. Silently ordering herself to stop thinking that way, the NCIS agent shook her head gently and continued her search, growing more frantic with each second that ticked slowly by.

Finally, just as despair was about to set in, she spotted him.

There, only twenty feet in front of her, Tony stood. He was looking up at the screen that constantly updated passengers as to when their flight would arrive, pacing and pinching the bridge of his nose, the way he always did either when he was frustrated or had a headache. From the look on Tony's face, Ziva guessed that it was both.

Stopping for merely a second to take his presence in, Ziva noted his appearance. The bluish-green eyes that she loved so much were bloodshot, and had bags under them, a sure sign that he hadn't slept well the previous night. Even so, the rest of him was perfectly groomed. Hair combed neatly; shirt tucked in; face shaved… no matter how tired he was, Tony would always be the same organized, respectable person Ziva had always seen him as.

Still, DiNozzo didn't have Ziva fooled. Although anybody else in the airport would believe that the Mossad officer was tired, but still a well put-together man, Ziva knew different. One look at the expression on Tony's face told her that he did _not_ have everything all figured out.

The Mossad officer's expression showed exhaustion, frustration, a small trace of confusion, and, to Ziva's delight, a little bit of doubt.

Although she wouldn't usually be happy that Tony was doubting himself and whether or not he was making the right decision, nothing was making her happier now. A small smile made it's way onto Ziva's face as hope filled her once again. If Tony was showing doubt, it meant that he wasn't even sure himself that leaving America was the best choice, making it much more likely for Ziva to be successful in convincing him to stay.

Gathering up all the courage she could, and doing her best to push her nerves to the side, Ziva took a deep breathe and began walking towards Tony. Finally, as she stepped in front of him, DiNozzo registered her presence for the first time.

The Mossad officer's eyes widened as he stared at his partner and, for once, Tony found himself at a loss for words. "I… you, I… wha—" Finally snapping out of the daze Ziva had set him in, DiNozzo straightened his back and regained control of his emotions. "What are you doing here?"

Staring her partner in the eyes, Ziva wondered if he was serious. To her, it was fairly obvious as to why she was here, but Tony seemed blind to her intentions. After quick thinking, Ziva decided that skirting around the issue would only waste precious time, meaning that the direct approach was the best choice.

"I'm here to convince you to stay."

When Tony turned his face away and refused to look Ziva in the eyes, he caused the NCIS agent to wonder if she had been too bold. The last thing she wanted was to scare Tony away before she had the chance to convince him not to leave.

"Then you have come here in vain, for I _will_ be leaving on that plane."

A heavy silence surrounded the two agents, both of which were fighting to keep their emotions under control. When Tony said nothing more, Ziva decided to take a different approach.

"Why didn't you at least give us a proper good-bye?" Tony visibly stiffened, but stayed silent, causing Ziva to sigh. She didn't want to hurt Tony, but had to understand his reasoning before she could convince him to stay so, not bothering to hide the pain he was causing her, she looked at her feet. "We've been through so much together; came to truly care for each other… was I not even worth a goodbye?"

Her guilt trip worked, and Tony's expression instantly softened as he reached out to Ziva. "That's not it Ziva. You know that I care for you."

"Then why—" The NCIS agent stopped mid-sentence as an idea popped into her head. Staring Tony into the eyes, she mustered everything she had to appear confident. "You didn't say goodbye because you know that this isn't a goodbye."

"What?" Tony stared at his former-partner in confusion, but didn't have to wait long for a clarification.

"You didn't say goodbye because inside, you know that you can't leave us. You care for all of us too much to ever leave us behind like that and, no matter how much you deny it, you know it's true."

Hardening his expression once again, Tony made sure not to show any emotion. "You need to leave."

Ziva took a step back in surprise, unprepared for the pain his words brought. In that moment she was confronted with the plain and simple truth that threatened to overwhelm her. _Tony doesn't want me anymore._

The thought was unbearable, but Ziva couldn't get it out of her head. Was that why he was leaving? Was it her fault? Could he not stand her so much that he simply couldn't take it anymore and had to leave?

It felt like her heart was being torn in two as Ziva took another step back in retreat, causing her to accidentally bump into a passing stranger and fall. Just before she touched the ground, however, Ziva felt to strong arms catch her and pull her up.

Expecting to see Tony's face, she looked up, surprised to see the stranger she had bumped into. "Sorry about that miss, I wasn't looking where I was going. Are you okay?"

Straightening herself out and looking around to see that Tony was now nowhere in sight, Ziva closed her eyes in pain. "No." She shook her head. "No I'm not."

~~~NCIS~~~

Tony sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose for the umpteenth time that day. He stood up from his chair and began pacing once again.

He knew that he had really messed things up with Ziva—there was no denying that.

The worst part was the end. The look of pain on her face when he asked her to leave was almost unbearable. The minute those words had left his mouth and hurt flashed across the face of the woman he loved, Tony wished that he could take them back. And yet… he knew he couldn't.

That was why he left. Although he wanted more than anything to be the one to catch her from her fall, to be the one to hold her close and promise that he would never let anything bad ever happen to her again, Tony knew he couldn't. If even the words he spoke hurt her, Ziva was definitely better of without him. So, as soon as she was distracted, he seized the opportunity and ran.

Now, Tony was once again doubting if he'd done the right thing. He'd been close enough to see the heart-broken look on Ziva's face when she looked up after the stranger caught her, expecting to see him, the person who was supposed to be there to protect her and catch her when she falls.

_I let her down again. Even if she does not realize it yet, she will eventually understand that she _is_ better off without me. I can only pray that she will understand why I have to leave—I hope she knows that I never meant to hurt her and can not stand to put her through any more pain. I am doing this for her and, eventually, she will understand that._

Still, the possibility that she might not understand _ever_ and could hate Tony for leaving for the rest of their lives sat heavy on his soul. He didn't want to leave things like this between them, yet he knew that this was the only way.

The Mossad officer's thoughts were interrupted when his cell phone began to shake, signally that he had a call. Looking at the Caller ID, he sighed. _Abby._

Tony, deciding that he was in no mood to take the call, let his voicemail take it.

"_**Tony?"**_

DiNozzo winced when he heard Abby's voice. It wasn't hard to tell that she was close to tears and he was overwhelmed by guilt once again as he realized how much pain he was causing the people he cared for most.

"_**Tony pick up…"**_

Shaking his head slightly, the Mossad officer tried to ignore his friend.

"_**Tony I need you to pick up… please. It—it's about Ziva. She, she's hurt."**_

The possibility that this could simply be a ploy to get him to pick up the phone passed through Tony's mind, but he decided that he couldn't take the chance of not answering.

"What happened?" The worry was evident in his voice but Tony didn't care, he simply waited for what felt like forever as Abby let out a few heart-breaking sobs.

"_**She—" **_The Mossad officer heard his friend sniff back tears before continuing. _**"I was on the phone with her and she was really upset. Said that she couldn't convince you to stay and that you didn't care for her anymore."**_Tony did his best to ignore the pang of guilt that assaulted him as he listened to Abby's story.

"_**Well, she said that she was on her way back to NCIS and needed to talk to someone. I heard her crying but didn't say anything, she asked me if I thought you'd ever come back when all of the sudden she screamed and I heard metal crunching and then nothing. The call was disconnected. But I got really worried and I went out looking for her and found out that she was in a serious accident and was taken to the hospital."**_

Abby broke down and began crying again, causing to fear the worst. After what seemed like an eternity, the forensic scientist finished her story.

"_**I went to the hospital and asked the doctor how she was doing and he said that she was in a coma and it didn't look good.**__**" **_Tony sucked in his breath as Abby sniffed back more tears and continued. _**"But the doctor said that she has a much better chance of coming out of her coma and surviving if people she knows and cares for talk to her. Please Tony, Ziva needs you... you have to come."**_

Tony closed his eyes to think more clearly, then opened them again, his voice shaking as spoke. "I am not sure that she will want me there Abby, Ziva hates me... and rightfully so."

_**"Tony, Ziva doesn't hate you. Right before she fell into the coma, she said **_**your **_**name."

* * *

**_So... how did I do? Lol, was this chapter up to standards? I wasn't so keen on how I wrote the last part but _really _wanted to get it up today so I left it.

So will Tony come to Ziva? Or will he get really overwhelmed, not be able to take it all, and get on the plane? Hehehe... You'll just have to wait and see. Plus, is Ziva going to survive? Or will she give up hope and (if Tony skips his plane) will he be too late? Guess you'll have to wait and see for that too. But don't worry, leave a reveiw and I'll update quicker! :p

Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

Title: Twisted

Chapter: 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters from the show, they belong to the writers of NCIS. **

Author's note: Hey. :) So I managed to get this chapter up pretty quickly (just a few days, which, considering how busy I've been re-adjusting to school, I think is pretty good.) Plus, this chapter is the longest one yet, and has A LOT happening in it. Unfortunately, it is also the last chapter but, hey, every story has to end sometime. :)

There's a longer author's note at the bottom, so I won't keep you much longer. Just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews and enjoy!

* * *

"_**I went to the hospital and asked the doctor how she was doing and he said that she was in a coma and it didn't look good." **_Tony sucked in his breath as Abby sniffed back more tears and continued. _**"But the doctor said that she has a much better chance of coming out of her coma and surviving if people she knows and cares for talk to her. Please Tony, Ziva needs you... you have to come."**_

Tony closed his eyes to think more clearly, then opened them again, his voice shaking as spoke. "I am not sure that she will want me there Abby, Ziva hates me... and rightfully so."

_**"Tony, Ziva doesn't hate you. Right before she fell into the coma, she said **_**your **_**name."

* * *

**_

Tony's heart was pounding in his ears as his taxi driver sped down the street. He and Abby had decided that she would go straight to the hospital and, since he didn't have a car, he would take a taxi back to NCIS headquarters where he'd tell Gibbs and McGee what happened, then take one of their cars to Bethesda.

The Mossad officer's heart ached as he thought back to the phone call he'd shared with Abby only five minutes ago.

_She's in a coma… It's not looking good… You need to come… She said _your_ name._

DiNozzo shook his head in order to clear his thoughts and ran both hands through his hair in anxiety. The butterflies in his stomach stirred mercilessly as it finally began to sank in that Ziva was in danger again.

The whole world seemed to spinning wildly out of control as Tony got out of the cab and paid the driver before running blindly towards the stairs. When he saw that they were closed, however, the Mossad officer swore under his breath before heading towards the elevator.

Why did this happen to her? Why Ziva? She had just recovered from the stabbing and now some idiot driver not only put her back in the hospital, but also in a coma?

Rage burned through Tony as he jabbed at the elevator call button. It wasn't fair. Everyone knew that Ziva was a better driver than him, so why was she the one who got hurt. Why couldn't it have been him? He would've gladly taken her place.

By the time the elevator had arrived, DiNozzo was on the brink of tears. Blinking them away, he stepped into the elevator and, only vaguely aware of another presence in the small metal box, selected his floor. While doing all this, he tried to ignore the nagging voice at the back of his mind that echoed his worst fear: _She may not make it this time._

Tony ran both hands through his hair and began to pace the width of the elevator, only stopping when a familiar voice spoke to him. "I'm surprised you came."

The Mossad officer's eyes widened as he spun around to look at the other person in the elevator for the first time. His heart soared as his eyes took her presence in. "Ziva?!"

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva stared intently at Tony as the Mossad officer whirled around to face her. His face showed obvious shock and disbelief as he questioned, "Ziva?!"

DiNozzo's eyes lit up as he took in the presence of his former partner. He took one step towards her to pull her into a hug before he realized that she had lied to him. Anger and indignation quickly swept through his veins and the Mossad officer wiped all emotion from his face as he took a step _away _from Ziva and straightened his back.

"What is the purpose of this?!" He practically hissed, but Ziva only rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't be reasoned with at the airport, so Abby and I decided to reason with you here, at NCIS."

"So you lied to me and made me think that you were going to die?!" Tony spat, getting angrier by the minute. He couldn't believe this—he couldn't believe that they'd ever stoop this low.

"It was the only way to get you back here." Ziva stated as if it was the simplest thing on earth. Reaching over, she stopped the elevator before turning to face the man she used to date. Tony opened his mouth to yell at her again, but the NCIS agent cut him off, anger fuelling her own words. "Do not bother to tell me that I was out of line Tony, because your actions in the last two weeks and a half are inexcusable. You have no right to tell anyone else that what they're doing is wrong."

Tony stood there silently, barely able to control his emotions as Ziva ranted on. "I was in the hospital with a _stab wound_ and you never even visited me _once!_ Everyone else came to see me! Abby! Gibbs! McGee! Ducky! Jenny! Even Palmer for goodness sake! But you—" Ziva jabbed her finger into Tony's chest harshly, no longer caring about whether she hurt him or not. "_You _never even visited me once! Just the first day and then never again! Who does that? You're my partner, you should've been there for me!"

"Was." Tony forced the word out through clenched teeth, then, at the confused look on Ziva's face, clarified. "I _was_ your partner." _And I wanted to be so much more…_

Tony shook the thought from his head as he glared at Ziva, watching for her reaction. He hadn't been expecting his words to do any real damage so when Ziva flinched slightly and pain flashed through her eyes, guilt assaulted him. He was about to apologize when another thought came to him.

"What did you mean when you said that you were 'surprised I came?'" Ziva didn't say anything, but something prodded Tony to continue with his line of questioning. "When I first came into the elevator, why did you say that you were 'surprised I came?'"

"You were never there for me before, why should you bother starting now?" Ziva replied harshly, even though she knew it wasn't the truth. In reality, she'd said that because she knew he didn't care about her, therefore he didn't care about what happened to her. He'd made that clear not only by refusing to visit her in the hospital, but also by his actions at the airport.

Tony closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose as he attempted to calm himself. There was no denying the fact that Ziva's words hurt but something told him she was lying. "I want the truth Ziva. Why were you surprised I came?"

"You want the truth?" Ziva asked incredulously, her anger started to rise to an unhealthy level, and the NCIS agent needed a means to escape this situation. "As Col. Jessop from 'A Few Good Men' would tell you, _you can't handle the truth!"_

At this, Tony had had enough. "IS EVERYTHING IN LIFE A JOKE TO YOU? NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOUR STUPID MOVIES!"

"I like those _stupid movies_!" Ziva countered quickly, "Whether you like it or not those movies are a part of my life and a part of me. If you hate them than that means that you hate me too!" Ziva's voice lowered several notches as she practically whispered, "But then again, this isn't exactly new news to me."

"What?" DiNozzo's eyebrows met his hairline in surprise at Ziva's words. "After everything we have been through how could you believe I hate you?"

"Well you've made it pretty clear!" Ziva spat, "You wouldn't visit me in the hospital and I go to the airport to ask you to stay with me here in America and what do you do? YOU ASK ME TO LEAVE!"

Not really wanting to get into the reasons for his actions, Tony tried to make eye contact with Ziva as he told her in the most sincere voice he could, "I do not hate you Ziva… I could never hate you."

The NCIS agent scoffed and rolled her eyes, clearly not believing Tony. "You're not the only one who wants the truth Tony. After all that you've put me through in the past few days, I think I deserve some honesty from you."

"I am being honest." DiNozzo defended himself as he took one step closer to Ziva. "I do not hate you." _I love you._

When the brown-haired woman before him kept her eyes focused on her shoes and remained silent, Tony tried again. Deciding to take a chance, he stepped closer to her and, using one finger, gently raised her face to his so that their eyes met.

DiNozzo almost took a step backwards in surprise at what he found hidden deep inside Ziva's soul.

Pain, suffering, hope… a variety of emotions were present in her beautiful brown eyes, but right now he only cared about one because now, right there before him, Tony found the love he had wished for so many months ago when Ziva ended their relationship.

The Mossad officer wanted nothing more than to kiss the woman he loved, but held back, needing to hear her say the words he'd wanted, even _needed,_ to hear for so long.

Feeling uncomfortable under Tony's penetrating gaze, Ziva cleared her throat and took a small step back. It was only when she noted the look on his face that fear struck her because, at that moment, she realized that Tony knew how much she cared for him.

Reaching over, she quickly restarted the elevator and faced the metal doors, hoping in vain that DiNozzo would leave things alone.

"Ziva…" The NCIS agent closed her eyes, silently praying that Tony would simply stop. She knew that he did not feel the same way about her as she felt for him and did not want to be pressed about how much she cared.

"Leave it alone Tony." She demanded, but even to her ears it sounded more like pleading.

It was only when Tony grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him so that they were forced to lock eyes that the NCIS agent began to truly panic. She needed a way out. She couldn't talk about this yet. Not now, not ever.

"I said leave it alone." Ziva tried weakly to protest, but they both knew that it was no use. Tony slowly lowered his mouth to hers, sending shockwaves through Ziva as the two agents shared the sweetest kiss of their lives.

When they pulled apart, Tony stared deep into Ziva's eyes before pulling her even closer to him and whispering softly in her ear. "I love you."

Joy and fear flowed simultaneously through Ziva at Tony's words. The overwhelming emotions flooded through her veins, causing her to take a step back in confusion. As glad as she was that Tony returned her feelings, the NCIS agent found herself unable to suppress the crushing sense of fear that coursed through her veins at his words. No matter how much she wanted to be, she simply wasn't ready for love.

"I… I can't." She saw the pain flash through Tony's eyes at the rejection, but found herself unable to do the one thing that would ease it. The whole world seemed to stop spinning and Ziva stood, paralysed, as Tony stared into her eyes.

"Then I can not stay." With that, DiNozzo turned, walking through the now-open elevator doors, into the NCIS parking lot and out of Ziva's life forever.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva stared after Tony in stunned silence as he stormed out of the elevator. She couldn't blame him for leaving, but it still hurt to see him do so.

The NCIS agent knew that it was cruel of her to play with his heart like this but, in reality, she wasn't trying to. She cared for him too much to simply mess with his emotions, and Tony meant more to her than any other man ever had.

Ziva knew that she loved him, and she knew that he loved her, but she also knew that she wasn't ready for love yet. That was why she couldn't tell him how much she cared. She wasn't ready and, therefore, would not be able to handle such a serious relationship. As much as it hurt to watch Tony leave, Ziva knew that it would devastate them both to go through another break-up—something that was sure to happen when she was involved.

Even though Ziva knew she was saving them both from heartbreak, she was surprised at just how much it hurt to watch Tony leave, knowing full well that he was walking out of her life forever.

Right before the elevator doors closed, Ziva stepped outside. Knowing that this would be the last time she ever saw Tony, the NCIS agent didn't want to leave things like this.

Mustering all the courage she could, Ziva took a deep breath and walked towards Tony, trying to appear much more confident than she felt. DiNozzo didn't even bother to look at her as she stopped right beside him. "Good-bye Tony."

When the Mossad officer didn't reply, Ziva sighed. "We will never see each other again, is this really the way you want to leave things?" When DiNozzo remained silent, Ziva turned to face him. "Don't I at least get a good-bye?"

"As far as I am concerned, you are not worth one."

Tony's words stung, and Ziva took a few steps back in surprise. Hurt, she turned away, unable to stop herself from delivering one last blow before she left. "If this is what love is, I want no part of it."

Tony showed no emotion as Ziva walked away, but inside he was dying. _You have already made it clear that you want no part of my love._

Refusing to turn around and watch her leave, Tony remained silent as he waited for the taxi he'd called to arrive and take him to the airport and away from this city forever.

~~~NCIS~~~

Ziva stormed off towards the stairs, but stopped as she placed her hand on the door. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to leave. Turning around, she saw Tony's taxi arrive.

Her heart plummeted as she realized that this was it. Tony was really leaving her.

It was only when DiNozzo placed his bags in the trunk that Ziva realized, no matter how much it would hurt if they did break up, she couldn't let him leave. She loved him and, whether she was ready to make that step or not, she had to tell him before he left, hating her forever.

Ziva began running frantically towards the cab and was only twenty feet away when Tony pulled open the door. Just as he was about to get inside, Ziva called out to him. "Tony wait!"

The Mossad officer turned around to look at Ziva, a sad look in his eyes as he shook his head slowly. "I already told you that I cannot stay Ziva, please just let me leave."

"Bu—"

"NO!" Tony raised his voice to cut Ziva off before lowering it again, "I have no reason to stay here Ziva. America holds nothing for me."

The two agent's eyes met, Ziva's begging Tony to stay, while DiNozzo's pleaded for her not to make this any harder. After a few moments of silence, Tony turned back towards the car. "I have to go."

Seeing that she had to act quickly if she was going to convince him to stay, Ziva placed a hand on his shoulder, causing Tony to turn around. "Stay for me."

Tony's eyes showed confusion, and Ziva couldn't blame him, but hopefully, three small words could clear the air. "I love you."

Joy surged through Tony, but he couldn't help but feel doubtful. Just ten minutes ago, she said she didn't love him, and know she was saying she did? How could he be sure that she wasn't simply toying with his heart again.

Seeing Tony's uncertainty, Ziva did the one thing she knew would convince him. Standing on her toes, she gently pressed her lips to his in a kiss that said more than words ever could. Pulling back, she smiled at him. "I love you."

Ziva was just able to get the words out before Tony's lips crashed down on hers. He pulled her closer to him, one hand at the small of her back and the other tangled in her hair before he finally pulled away. After a few moments of searching the other's eyes, both agents were smiling.

Ziva's smile, however, grew even wider at Tony's next words. "I will stay."

~~~NCIS~~~

Gibbs sat silently behind his desk, watching Abby and McGee anxiously glance towards the elevator for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Their faces grew even more distressed when the elevator opened and it _wasn't_ Tony and Ziva who walked out.

Even Jenny was waiting in the bullpen, hoping desperately that things would turn out to be okay. She had known Tony before he came to work at NCIS, having worked with him several years ago in Cairo, where he saved her life. Since then, the two had become good friends, which was how Jenny knew how much Tony cared for Ziva.

After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator doors opened once again, but everyone was disappointed to see that it still wasn't Tony and Ziva. After a few moments of intense silence, a voice questioned. "I can't say for sure, but I think they're waiting for someone."

Everyone turned around quickly to see Tony and Ziva both grinning at them all. When Abby came up and hugged them both, the happy couple shared a smile. Tony grabbed Ziva's hand, unafraid of the consequences, as Gibbs approached them.

"Far as I'm concerned," Jethro began calmly, "You two worked better as a couple than after you broke up. Keep it out of the office and anywhere else I can see you."

"Thank you Gibbs." Tony and Ziva said simultaneously, grinning at eachother as they leaned in for a quick kiss. They broke apart, however, when each of them where delivered a slap to the back of their head.

"What part of 'keep it out of the office' do you two not understand?" Gibbs barked, but anyone could see that he wasn't mad.

Jenny chuckled as she stepped in front of Tony and Ziva and, in an uncharacteristic show of affection, hugged them both. "If you two have even managed to convince Jethro to let you date, who am I to stand in the way?"

Tony chuckled and Ziva smiled, turning to look at Tim who was standing a little away from the crowd, looking awkward. Opening her arms wide, Ziva smiled at the younger agent. "Come on McGee, come and give me a McHug."

Everyone except Ziva, who laughed at her own joke, rolled their eyes.

"I'm glad everything worked out for the two of you." McGee said honestly as he gave them each a hug.

"Do not worry McGee," Tony started in a teasing tone as he glanced not-so-subtly at Abby, "I am sure that you will find a happily-ever-after too, yes?"

Both Abby and Tim blushed, but Ziva decided to give them a break as she smiled at Jenny and Gibbs, "But we do not want to leave the bosses out, right?"

Jen scowled at Ziva, blushing, but Gibbs simply sent his agent a smirk before dealing her another head-slap.

Everyone but Ziva laughed, and Jethro rolled his eyes as he began walking away from the group. "Coffee run." He offered as a short explanation. Just before the elevator doors closed behind him, however, Gibbs threw an object towards Tony.

Looking down, the Mossad officer smiled to see his NCIS badge. He gave his boss a small smile, which Gibbs responded to with a dismissive nod. "Welcome back ."

* * *

**So... how did I do? Let me know with a review! (Please?)**

**So that's the end of this story, but don't worry, I am by no means done writing. I have two stories in mind (one was an idea by Penelopie Louise) and is about Tony and Ziva going undercover to catch Jeanne, who took over her father's work. The other story is a sequal to A Walk To Remember. Which one should I do first? I can't decide so whichever one gets the most interest in reviews will be the one I do first. :)**

**I hope you liked this story (sorry that I took so long to update this one!) but I still want to know what you think. So... review! Lol, seriously though, I hope you liked this story and thanks to everyone who did review on it. **

**Look forward to more stories soon!  
**


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